Basic Pickles Recipes

Discover the joys of making homemade pickles in the summer with fresh garden vegetables! Your family will love these basic pickles recipes!


by . Lehman’s Hardware

Summertime brings us the freshest produce of the year. Now is the time to put up some of the bounty for the cold winter days! Pickled cauliflower, cucumbers, and peaches? Yes, please!

There are a few hard and fast rules that will protect your family and the food you have worked to prepare.

Resources for Making Homemade Pickles

My first suggestion is to get a quality book on canning and read it. Lehman’s has all the essential canning supplies, including the Blue Ball Book, which many consider the only guidebook you will ever need.

Jars and Lids

When canning, use standard canning jars with pre-treated lids; leftover food jars are NOT safe to use, they can explode in hot water bath or pressure cooker. Discard any jars with rims that are cracked or chipped.

Do not reuse lids! They come pre-treated from the manufacturer with an agent to help them keep their seal. It would be a shame to do all of the work of canning only to find out that the seal didn’t hold.

Basic Pickles Recipes

Here are a few recipes to try this summer:

Pickled Cauliflower

Cauliflower

Pickled Cauliflower

A simple recipe for pickled cauliflower.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Canning 5 minutes
Course Appetizer
Cuisine American
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 1 Tablespoon canola oil
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seed
  • 1 teaspoon coriander seed
  • 2 teaspoon curry powder
  • 1 teaspoon fresh minced ginger
  • 1 whole clove garlic, smashed
  • 1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup rice wine vinegar
  • ½ cup cider vinegar
  • 3 Tablespoons sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon pickling salt, no substitute

Instructions
 

  • Heat the canola oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat. 
  • Crush the cumin seed with the coriander seed and add to the pan.
  • Add the curry powder, ginger, and garlic to the pan.
  • Cook these spices, stirring until the oil colors and the spices are fragrant.
  • Add the cauliflower florets to the pan and toss to coat.
  • In a lidded plastic container, combine the water, rice wine vinegar, cider vinegar, sugar, and pickling salt. Shake to combine.
  • Once the cauliflower is slightly tender, add it to a canning jar. Pour the pickling liquid over the cauliflower, filling to the top of the jar.
  • Cool, chill, and store for 1 week to allow the flavors to develop thoroughly.

How to Can Pickled Cauliflower

  • Heat vinegar mixture to near boiling.
  • Pack cauliflower into jars.
  • Pour hot vinegar mixture into jars, leaving ½” headspace. Cover with lids; screw on bands to “fingertip tight.”
  • Process jars in hot water bath for 5 minutes; water should cover jars by 1 inch. Remove jars to rack to cool. Test seals. Store in cool, dark place.
Keyword cauliflower, pickles

Head on over to Lehmans.com to get more delicious tangy recipes for basic pickles including Sweet Gherkin Pickles, Dill Pickles, and Southern Pickled Peaches! You’ll also find a video tutorial for simple water bath canning instructions. Homesteader home canning couldn’t get any easier!

Preserving the Harvest

If you grow a homestead garden you’ll eventually need to preserve the produce haul you bring in. Find more recipes and tutorials for preserving your garden bounty!

Basic Pickles Recipes: Homemade Pickles from Summertime Garden Vegetables