So in my on going quest to find an enjoyable use for chard- I came across the suggestion to pickle the stems. I enjoy pickling things so I'm giving it the old college try.
We don't have any free mason jars right now so I improvised with an old pickle jar. Reduce, reuse, recycle. The Joy of Cooking has a good recipe for pickling that we have used on cucumbers (yum!) carrots (yuck!) and okra (eh). Its simple.
One part vinegar to one part water and some salt. You need to use pickling salt or kosher salt. We use kosher. You put what you are canning into your container and maybe some dill, boil up the salt, water and vinegar and then pour the hot liquid into the jar leaving at least a half inch at the top for expansion. Put the lid on. Then you do this thing where you boil the jar to sterilize it. This is for people who are pickling to keep stuff for a long time (pioneers, winter storers)- as opposed to people who just prefer their vegetables to taste like pickles (us). You boil the whole jar to kill any bacteria so they can store forever. This is were the mason jars come in and then they snap closed and that magical button on the top pops in. Sometimes we skip this part because if our pickled goods make it a month without being eating its a miracle.
Hope your pickle will turn out well ... cheers! ~ bangchik
ReplyDeleteYum. Pickles. Yum. I don't know about TX but here you can get Mason jars at the thrift store for waaaaaay cheap. They might be used but they still get the job done!
ReplyDeleteI wonder if I would like chard stems that way. I love the leaves, but the stems are a bit too beety for me. I tend to like everything better pickled, so it might work.
ReplyDeleteoh good suggestion about the thrift store. i think i have seen some there.
ReplyDeletedaphne-im hoping they are better pickled too. =)
I can't wait to see how these turn out. I am growing chard this year and really don't know what I will do with it. But grow it I will try. Good luck, I hope the pickles are great!
ReplyDelete-Heather