Kimchi isn’t just a midnight craving for pregnant women, everyone loves kimchi! As with most things, they’re even better when you make them at home! Don’t feel intimidated here, kimchi is quick and easy to make. You’ll never reach for that store bought jar again!
history class: Kimchi dates back thousands of years, when pickling was the best way to preserve food. When you think of pickles, you might immediately think of cucumbers, but really any vegetable can be pickled!
Choice of Pickling Cucumbers:
common cucumber are the standard cucumbers you see at the grocery store, short and wide, and may even have a waxy coating on them to make them look good on the shelf. These have larger seeds and a higher water content.
english cucumber Since they don’t have a wax coating, they are often covered with plastic wrap for better storage on the shelf. They have a sweeter flavor, and while they still have seeds, they are small and have a much lower water content, making them perfect for refrigerator pickles!
pickled cucumbers Made for kimchi. While they can be eaten fresh in the garden, their thin skin and extra crunchy flesh make them ideal for pickling. You might have a hard time finding these in stores.
If you’re having a hard time finding English or pickled cucumbers, you can even use mini cucumbers!
Bread and Butter Pickles
Love bread and butter pickles? no problem! It’s easy to change this dill pickle recipe to the bread and butter variety. Just replace 1/2 cup of white vinegar with apple cider vinegar. Then, instead of adding black peppercorns, garlic, and dill, season the pickles with:
- 1 inch cinnamon stick
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 6 allspice
- 6 whole cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
In defense of sugar:
From a food safety point of view, it is true that no sugar can be added, but we do not recommend it. When used in pickling, sugar helps maintain texture and balances the tartness at this acidity.