WHEN LIFE HAS YOU....

 MAKE A PICKLE!!

Welcome once again food lovers and colleagues...to the wonderful world of preservation.  An old school way to store and save food safely for times of less abundance, is now one of the most respected crafts in the culinary world!!

For my first picking/canning and preserving experience I have chosen to go with a classic...sweet, fresh, organic carrots.  Markets are bound to have some organic carrots around if you look hard enough.  Although here in Ontario, I must say we have some of the world's finest.  In one of Chef Inniss' lecture presentations he presented a wonderful plate filled with beautiful picked veggies.  This is what inspired me to make some wonderful carrots.

REMEMBER...K.I.S.S.

9-10 halved organic carrots

4 cups white vinegar

1 cup spring water

1 cup organic cane sugar

2 tsp picking raw salt

1 tablespoon each:

fennel seed

dill seed

2 sprigs bay leaf

1 stick cinnamon

1 mason jar

Method:

Combine vinegar, water, salt and sugar to make a brine. Bring to a low simmer.  If you are canning the carrots for dry, room temp storage you will need to blanche the carrots in the simmering brine for about 3 minutes or until slightly bendable to the touch. Place mason jar in a pot of boiling water.

Remove carrots, place into a cold bath to stop cooking.  Remove JAR ONLY FROM BOILING WATER, LEAVING THE LID AND CAP INSIDE.  Combine dry ingredients in mason jar and add the cooled carrots.  Pour the hot bring over the carrots .

Remove cap and lid from boiling pot and use to tightly close the mason jar filled with liquid.  Place the jar in the boiling pot to commence the canning process approx 10 mins.  

SERVE AFTER 24 HOURS MINIMUM TO ABSORB MAXIMUM FLAVOUR!!

This recipe is a classic!!  I flavoured it with my own personal touch however that brine and pickling base is something that has indeed changed the way we all eat.  Nutrients are locked into the vegetables and that amazing crunch can still be enjoyed with the wonderful flavours and undertones.  Cinnamon, fennel, and dill are all complimentary garnishes for these wonderful carrots. 

Suggested Serving - 

Delicious antipasto plate, combining seasonal pickled veggies (giardiniera) such as beans, carrots, cauliflower, peppers.  Fresh Bocconcini, Seafood Salad, Radicchio, Prosciutto Di Parma. Crostini to garnish!