Autoscriptorium is on a bit of a hiatus until work obligations calm down. Thanks for your forbearance.
The world’s uses, as our spiritual little brother says, betimes seem to grow weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable, and when these trappings and suits descend, one must jar them out— through the act of jarring, and preferably, jarring something pickled.
Pickling is a food preservation process that bathes vegetables in an acid solution to extend shelf life of food and enhance flavor. One might use vinegar, or salt. The salt creates a brine that creates lactic acid, leading to anaerobic fermentation (think picked eggs or onions); the vinegar creates acetic acid, and draws out moisture (think kimchi or sauerkraut). Either process lends vegetables a tart, sour, umami flavor that pairs ideally with most foods and delights by itself.
The process of pickling is ancient, dating back to 2500-2400 BCE. “Pickle” is a term that dates to c. 1400, probably from Middle Dutch pekel meaning “brine” or “spiced sauce for meat,” or from related words in Low German (pökel) and East Frisian (päkel). Reference to “cucumber preserved in pickle” is first recorded 1707, via use of the word for the salty liquid in which meat, etc. was preserved (c. 1500). The figurative sense of “a sorry plight, a state of difficulty” dates from the 1560s, when the word still meant a sauce served on meat about to be eaten. Into the soup as it were.
Here are two infallible “refrigerator pickle” recipes, using vinegar, that create addictive, tart pickled things in approximately 20 minutes each. These are by no means the only methods, as there are myriad, but they are quick and easy, and immediately rewarding.
Infallible Pickles
Makes 1 Mason jar of pickled cucumbers
Ingredients:
1 large, sealable Mason jar
6-8 small Persian cucumbers, or 1 large cucumber (or equivalent quantities of your vegetable of choice)
1 ½ cups distilled white vinegar
¾ cup water
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
2 tsp MSG
2 cloves of garlic
2-4 sprigs of fresh dill
Slice your cucumbers into coins, spears, chips, to your preference. Remove the thicker stems of the dill sprigs. Smash or slice the garlic. Add the cucumbers, dill, and garlic to the Mason jar. Bring the vinegar, water, salt, sugar, and MSG to a boil. When it boils, pour it over the cucumbers, dill, and garlic until the jar is full. Let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate. These, you can eat immediately, but they’re better after a spell in the fridge. Keeps nigh-indefinitely.
Mustard Eggs Makes 1 Mason jar of pickled mustard eggs Ingredients: 1 large, sealable Mason jar 6 hard boiled eggs (whole or sliced, as you prefer) 1 shallot or ½ a white onion, thinly sliced 1 ½ cups distilled white vinegar ¾ cup water 1 tbsp salt 1 tbsp sugar 2 tsp MSG 1 tbsp mustard 1 tsp mustard seed 1 tsp turmeric
Leave your eggs whole, or slice them, as you prefer. Slice the onions. Add the eggs and onions to the Mason jar. Bring the vinegar, water, salt, sugar, MSG, and mustard to a boil. When it boils, pour it over the eggs and onions until the jar is full. Let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate. Let these sit for a few hours before eating. Keeps nigh-indefinitely.