Mustard Pickles

I had this boyfriend in college, whose grandmother used to send him care packages with home made mustard pickles. They were the greatest pickles I ever had. When you shook up a jar, it became an ugly dirty yellow cloud of pickle juice. The first bite of one would always give you a burning sensation in your nose the way Wasabi does . I asked him if I could have the recipe once, but it turned out I would only be able to get it from her on her death bed, and even then, I would have had to be married into the family.

mustard pickles

Here’s what I made…
Mustard Pickles
1lb/450g cucumber
1lb/450g onions
8oz/225g carrots
1 cauliflower, medium size
3 pints/1710ml vinegar
2oz/50g sugar
2oz/50g mustard
1oz/25g salt

Chop all the vegetables into even sized pieces, keeping the carrot and cauliflower separate.
Add sugar and salt to the vinegar and bring to a boil. Mix a little vinegar into the mustard for easier mixing, then add the mustard to the vinegar on the stove and mix well before adding the cauliflower and carrots. Boil for 15 min, then add the rest of the vegetables and cook until tender. Pour into warmed jars, seal and label.

I didn’t have any cauliflower, so I used extra cucumber instead. I went with white wine vinegar, though ran out just a little early, and replaced the last bit with cider vinegar. Also, I used mustard powder. I figured that’s what they meant, otherwise why would you have to pre mix it before adding it to the pot. I might have been wrong there.

NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART!

Here is my advice to you. ONLY MAKE THESE ON A WARM DAY. I cannot stress this enough. As it turns out, when you mix mustard powder with vinegar and use it to boil onions, it makes your entire house a little toxic. My eyes were tearing up even at the opposite end of the house. It was not a terribly nice day, but I still had to open all the windows, and the back door. The smell went away fairly quickly after it was done, but next time I will wait for a sunny lovely day.

We opened the jar tonight and tried them, even though I should have let them sit longer. They are really quite tangy. I’m pretty excited about them. Not as good as the original, but an acceptable substitute for now.

This recipe was from a website called Hookery Cookery.

tags technorati : pickles, pickling