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Armenian Pickled Mixed Vegetables

8 years ago

Has anyone made Linda Ziedrich's recipe for Armenian Pickled Mixed Vegetables? Opinions?

I am also looking for a mixed vegetable pickle recipe (not sweet) that can be be processed for shelf storage. The one I mention above is for fridge storage only. Anyone have a favorite?

thanks!

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Comments (4)

digdirt2
8 years ago
Have you tried the NCHFP recipe for pickled mixed veg

I have never made Linda's recipe but I know the reason she recommends that most of the Armenian Mixed Vegetable Pickle recipes out there be fridge stored only is because so many of them call for too little added acid. A 1:5 or a 1:6 parts vinegar to water is common in many of the recipes that pop up on the web and that is just too weak for all those low acid vegetables to be safely shelf-stored.

Otherwise you can make them just about any way you want as far as the vegetables and spices used as long as you use a minimum of 1:1 vinegar to water for the brine (more vinegar is safer) and process them in a BWB for 10 min. (adjust for altitude).

Dave
KSprairie
Original Author
8 years ago
Thank you Dave. There are so many interesting recipes in the JofP, I will probably try some of the refrigerater-safe-only ones just to try something different. I am trying a couple of her fermented recipes currently, I sure hope they turn out! I have no experience with fermenting.

Would the 3.5 cups sugar in the NCHFP Mixed Veg recipe make for a pretty sweet pickle, like a bread & butter? If so can I reduce the sugar or take it out entirely and not negatively affect the texture of the vegetables? I don't want a sweet pickle, just vinegary- salty.

So would a combination of green beans, small green grape tomatoes, carrots, celery, cauliflower, onions, peppers, etc. be ok regardless of the proportions of each, as long as I stick to 1:1 Vinegar to water or stronger?

Thanks so much for your advice!
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Comments (15)
I understand that you don't want to do any canning but pickling is also food preservation and it has safety concerns attached to it. That's why the Harvest forum - the food preservation forum - exists for discussions such as this and is full of info on how to do it properly and safely. The problem with using slicing cukes for pickles, and this is discussed in great detail on the Harvest forum, is they contain 2-3x as much water as pickling cukes do and have a thinner rind. The result is mushy pickles. Experienced pickle makers will not use them to make any kind of pickles just for that reason. You can off-set some of that mushiness by using Pickle Crisp (calcium chloride). The Mrs. Wages and Ball pickling mixes have it added to them. They also contain citric acid to make the pickles even safer. If using other recipes you have to add your own Ca chloride and citric acid. But the pickles will still be softer if you use slicing cukes and many have sadly discovered that the hard way. You may be happy with the result but most pickle makers are not. Second, since the discovery of listeria, a bacteria which grows even under refrigeration, many of the old 'fridge pickle' recipes are no longer considered safe because they contain too little vinegar, they are not acidic enough for even fridge storage. Cukes are a low-acid vegetable so botulism, in addition to the listeria, is a potential problem when refrigerator pickles are made improperly. Thus the citric acid in the Mrs. Wages mixes. Dave
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Comments (1)
Its Calcium Chloride and is not being offered by Ball anymore. Its used in some commercially canned whole tomatoes to help them retain firmness. Its a 'buffer' that 'tames' the acid in vineger. The vegetables that are pickled would need at least n 80:20 ratio of 5% vinegar to be safely canned. You didn't mention what 'vegetables' you plan to pickle, but if its peppers, onions, carrots, cauliflower, and cukes, they should hold a bit of firmess after a longer than 6 month storage. The Calcium Chloride is now offered by a Web Site- Bulk Foods. And is a bit larger granule size, so a teaspoon per quart is needed in each jar. Its added at packing time, or once the jars are being filled with boiling brine. Using FRESH vegetables is always important. I can never find whole small white onions in my local supermarkets, so I grow a mini purple type insead. Use Clear Jel for the thickener as opposed to any flour. Also, I like it sweetened with Splenda, but use a small amount. I also use yellow and brown mustard seeds as well as grind them with celery seeds in a small coffee grinder (blender type). I find that the veggies exude a lot of liquid and seem to get 'lost' in all that mustard sauce. Tumeric is used to give it yellow color and I like the Colemans dry mustard powder/flour too. I also add a few cut up pieces of sweet red peppers for added color. I may consider treating the veggies with lots of pickling salt prior to canning. This will draw out some of the water in the veggies. I had leftover mustard, and mixed with finely chopped pickling cukes and onions to be used on hotdogs as a relish.
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Comments (11)
Dave, That's kind of what I was afraid of! I actually did grow picklers, I had four hills of those and only one of the armenian. I really like the armenian for a refrigerator pickle but that one plant has produced about ten times as much as the other cucumbers! I had never grown armenians before as I had only purchased them from the farmers market and I didn't realize how prolific they were! My other cucumbers have pretty much stopped producing. I was able to get about four pints of relish and four of slices before they pretty much quit. It just seems like every year I grow cucumbers that I never get enough to make actual pickles. I only get a couple every other day or so and I know that you are supposed to pickle them preferably within 24 hours so I never really get enough. How many hills should it take to get enough to make pickles? It just doesn't seem like it is worth the trouble to only make like a pint a day or something if you know what I mean. Once our heat hits things just go downhill from there. I never would have thought that I would have this much trouble growing cucumbers! I thought they were supposed to be easy! ;) Carly
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Comments (6)
Okay, You all got me nervous about my recipe. I posted the wrong ratio for the brine. That is what I used for my refrigerator mixed pickles. I went searching and here is the recipe for brine: 6 cups vinegar 3 cups water 2 Tbs pickling salt 1-2 Tbs sugar ( I used 1 Tbs) Pack pickles, boil brine, process pints 10 minutes and quarts 15 minutes. I knew about the ratio of at least half vinegar to water ratio, this one is the opposite of the one that I posted first:) I got the recipe from the Colorado State extension site, I usually am very careful about what I can and how I do it. My grandma always told me the story of a family of 6 that all died after eating improperly canned green beans. This story was told every year when I started canning;) Stacie who is glad that she found the recipe before she threw out the pickles. Stacie Here is a link that might be useful: colorado mixed pickle recipe
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digdirt2
8 years ago
<Would the 3.5 cups sugar in the NCHFP Mixed Veg recipe make for a pretty
sweet pickle, like a bread & butter? If so can I reduce the sugar
or take it out entirely and not negatively affect the texture of the
vegetables? I don't want a sweet pickle, just vinegary- salty.>

Yeah you can reduce it. In theory you could leave it out completely but note that is a straight vinegar recipe, not diluted. So much of the sugar is there to off-set some of the vinegar taste. Just sugar your brine to your taste before filling the jars with it - sample it in other words first. You might also want to try making it with cider vinegar rather than white for a more mellow taste with less 'bite'.

<So would a combination of green beans, small green grape tomatoes,
carrots, celery, cauliflower, onions, peppers, etc. be ok regardless of
the proportions of each, as long as I stick to 1:1 Vinegar to water or
stronger?>

Technically, yes, but it is the absolute bottom minimum and make sure it is 5%. Personally I wouldn't make it that weak. I prefer a bit more margin of safety and a longer shelf life so I go with a 2:1 ratio of vinegar to water. But there again, taste it first before filling the jars and adjust as needed.

Dave
KSprairie
Original Author
8 years ago
Excellent advice Dave, thank you so much! I don't have any problem with using a 2:1 ratio. Longer shelf life, added safety... Works for me! ;)

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