Martha Zepp, center, demonstrates pickling techniques
while workshop attendees watch at the Lancaster Exten
sion workshop.
A Pickle Is More
Than A Cucumber
LOU ANN GOOD
Food And Family
Features Editor
LANCASTER (Lancaster Co.)
If you are scrambling to pre
serve summer’s final bounty, con
sider pickling.
“A pickle is more than a cu
cumber,” said Martha Zepp, who
taught a pickling workshop this
week for Lancaster’s County’s
Penn State Cooperative Exten
sion.
Zepp, who writes the “Well
Preserved” column for Lancaster
Farming, prepared a wide vari
ety of pickled foods in addition to
pickles and pickle relish. Some of
these included beets, cauliflower,
brussels sprouts, beans, canta
loupe, com, and tomatoes.
While sharing pointers for
pickling a wide variety of foods,
she prepared pickled com relish.
Here are some pickling recipes
she has tried and proven.
For more recipes and fact
sheets on problems and pointers
when pickling, contact the Lan
caster Extension office by calling
Zepp at (717) 394-6851.
PICKLED CORN RELISH
10 cups fresh whole kernel
com (16-20 medium-size
ears) or six 10-ounce pack
ages of frozen com
2Vi cups diced sweet red pep
pers
2Vi cups diced sweet green
peppers
2Vi cups chopped celery
IVa cups diced onions
1 Va cups sugar
5 cups vinegar
2Vi tablespoons canning or
pickling salt
VA. teaspoons celery seed
I'A. tablespoons dry mustard
VA teaspoons tumeric
Yield: about 9 pints.
Boil ears of com five minutes.
Dip in cold water. Cut whole ker
nels from cob or use six 10-ounce
frozen packages of com.
Combine peppers, celery, on-
Recipe Topics
If you have recipes for topics listed below, please share them
with us. We welcome your recipes, but ask that you include ac
curate measurements, a complete list of ingredients, and clear
instructions with each recipe you submit. Be sure to include your
name and address. Recipes should reach our office one week be
fore the publishing date listed below.
Send your recipes to Lou Ann Good, Lancaster Farming, P.O.
Box 609, Ephrata, PA 17522.
September
20 Make It With Rice
27 National Honey Month
October
4 National Pork Month
11 National Veal Month
ions, sugar, vinegar, salt, and cel
ery seed in a saucepan. Bring to a
boil and simmer 5 minutes,
stirring occasionally. Mix mus
tard and turmeric in 'A cup of the
simmered mixture. Add this mix
ture and the corn to the hot mix
ture. Simmer another 5 minutes.
If desired, thicken mixture
with flour paste ('A cup flour
blended in 'A cup water) and stir
frequently.
Fill jars with hot mixture leav
ing 'A-inch headspace. Adjust lids
and process half-pints or pints
for 15 minutes in a boiling water
bath canner.
PICCALILLI
Piccalilli is a green tomato
relish that is good served with
pork or seafood. It can be used
in the same manner as a hot
dog relish. This particular reci
pe uses brown sugar, which
makes the sryup dark and
sweet.
6 cups chopped green tomatoes
I'/z cups chopped sweet red
peppers
l'/2 cups chopped green pep
pers
2'/2 cups chopped onions
7'/2 cups chopped cabbage
1/2 cup canning or pickling salt
3 tablespoons whole mixed
pickling spice
4/2 cups vinegar (5 percent
acidity)
3 cups brown sugar
Yield: 9 half pints.
Wash, chop, and combine veg
etables with Vi cup salt. Cover
with hot water and let stand 12
hours. Drain and press in a clean
white cloth to remove all possible
liquid. Tie spices loosely in a
spice bag and add to combined
vinegar and brown sugar and
heat to a boil in a saucepan. Add
vegetables and boil gently 30
minutes or until the volume of
the mixture is reduced by one-
(Tum to Page B 7)
End-Of-Summer Produce
Offers Great Tastes
It’s the end of summer, but the
garden is still producing some of
the most sumptious vegetables
and fruits.
If only you could prolong the
abundance of fresh garden pro
duce.
In a way you can. Try some of
the pickling recipes for cauli
flower, cantaloupe, tomatoes,
com and more. Today’s collec
tion of recipes include those from
our readers and some from a re
cent workshop taught by Martha
Zepp, who writes the Well Pre
served column that appears in
this paper throughout the spring
and summer months.
MIXED PICKLE
VA quarts cucumbers
1 quart pearl onions
1 pound lima beans
1 pint carrots
1 head cauliflower
6 red peppers
6 green peppers
6 yellow peppers
2 small or 1 large stalk celery
VA quart diluted vinegar
8 cups sugar
6 teaspoons mustard seed
4 teaspoon celery seed
2 level teaspoons ginger
1 level teaspoon paprika
1 level teaspoon turmeric
Soak cucumbers in salt water
overnight. Dice carrots, peppers,
and celery. Divide head of cauli
flower into the small heads (such
as you would cook for a meal).
Bring the vinegar, sugar, mus
tard seed, celery seed, ginger, pa
prika, and turmeric to a boil; add
the vegetables and boil for 15
minutes and put in jars and seal.
Clara Dorman
Lewisburg
FREEZER
VEGETABLE SOUP
1 quart chopped fresh toma
toes
1 cup diced celery
1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup diced onion
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt (optional)
/> teaspoon pepper
Combine soup ingredients in
large kettle. Bring to a boil.
Cover and simmer for 45 min
utes. Cool.
If desired, place 2 cups each
into freezer containers and
freeze. When ready to use, you
can thaw out and add 2 cups
cooked, diced potatoes plus 2
cups water for soup and simmer
40 minutes.
Mary Templon
Calhora, W.V.
SUMMER VEGETABLE
CASSEROLE
2 tablespoons butter
Vi cup diced green pepper
'A cup diced onion
1 cup com
1 cup diced zucchini
1 cup diced fresh tomatoes
Salt and pepper to taste
Yt cup bread crumbs
Grated cheese
Melt butter; add vegetables
and saute until tender, about 10
minutes. Season with salt and
pepper. Put into casserole dish.
Sprinkle with bread crumbs and
grated cheese. Preheat oven to
350 degrees. Bake 30 minutes or
until top turns light golden
brown.
Mrs. Daniel Yoder
Lewistown
ZUCCHINI PICKLE
2 pounds zucchini
2 small onions
'A cup salt
2 cups white vinegar
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon celery seed
1 teaspoon turmeric
These Jars of preserved fruits and vegetables
prove that a pickle is more than a cucumber. Pickled
produce includes beets, cauliflower, brussels
sprouts, beans, cantaloupe, corn, and tomatoes.
Featured Recipe
Think pickling is reserved for cucumbers?
Think again.
“A pickle is any fruit, vegetable, meat, or combination pre
served primarily by the use of vinegar and or salt. The blending
of spices, sugar, and vinegar with fruits and vegetables creates a
crisp, firm texture, and pungent, sweet-sour flavor,” said Mar
tha Zepp, who taught a class this week at the Lancaster County
Extension on pickling.
Pickled products flavor and interest to meals and snacks.
Zepp emphasized the importance of following recipes exactly.
“Never alter the proportions of vinegar, produce, or water in a
recipe. Use only tested recipes to make sure the level of acidity
in a pickled product is safe to prevent the growth of Clostridium
botulinum,” she said.
Some other pointers included the following:
Use canning or pickling salt. Table salt includes anti-caking
materials and iodine, which can cause cloudy brine and may
turn starchy foods blue.
Use cider or white vinegar of 5 percent acidity. White distilled
vinegar is recommended for foods where a clear color is desired.
Cider vinegar has a good flavor and aroma but my darken white
or light-colored foods.
Use white sugar unless the recipe specifically calls for brown
sugar. Sugar helps plump pickles and keep them firm.
Use soft water if possible. Hard water may interfere with the
formation of acid in brined pickles and prevent them from cur
ing properly. To soften hard water for pickling, boil the water 15
minutes and let stand 24 hours, covered. Remove any scum that
appears. Slowly pour water from the container so the sediment
will not be disturbed. Discard the sediment. Distilled water can
be used in pickle making.
For additional information and recipes about food preserva
tion, contact the Penn State Cooperative Extension in your
county.
PICKLED CAULIFLOWER OR BRUSSELS SPROUTS
12 cups of 1-2-inch cauliflower flowerets or small Brussels
sprouts
4 cups white vinegar (5 percent)
2 cups sugar
2 cups thinly sliced onions
1 cup diced sweet red peppers
2 tablespoons mustard seed
1 tablespoon celery seed
1 teaspoons turmeric
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Yield: about 4 pints.
Wash cauliflower flowerets or Brussels sprouts (remove stems
and blemished outer leaves) and boil in salt water (4 teaspoon
canning salt per gallon of water) for three minutes for cauliflow
er and four minutes for brussels sprouts. Drain and cool. Com
bine vinegar, sugar, onion, diced pepper, and spices in large
saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer five minutes. Distribute
onion and diced pepper among jars. Fill jars with pieces and
pickling solution, leaving '/2-inch headspace. Adjust lids and
process in a boiling water canner 10 minutes.
2 teaspoons mustard seed
Wash zucchini and cut in thin
slices. Peel and quarter onions
and cut in thin slices. Cover veg
etables with water and add salt.
Let stand 2 hours then drain
thoroughly. Bring remaining in
gredients to boil and pour over
vegetables. Let stand 2 hours
then bring to boil and boil 5 min
utes. Pack in hot sterilized jars
and seal.
Clara Dorman
Lewisburg