Pickled Cauliflower - No Scurvy for You this Winter

 

Saturday was the best day off I've had in a long time.  The sun was shining, the leaves were starting to turn color, the air was crisp.  My alarm went off, I opened up the kitchen windows, turned on some tunes (not to be confused with toons, come to think of it), and started planning. 

Every once in a while I love taking on a big kitchen project.  Like the Insane Cookie Baking Festival (ICBF) of 2008 where my friend Kathleen and I made no fewer than 11 different kinds of Christmas cookies, or that day when my friend Emily and I tried to make perfect petit fours, little confectionary presents, and instead created the ugliest, squint-your-eyes-they're-so-sweet mini cakes you've ever laid your eyes (or tastebuds) on:

No false modesty here. 

But I digress.  What was I talking about?  Oh right - pickled cauliflower, of course.  As you may recall, I got a great book last Christmas called Well-Preserved Eugenia Bone.  She provides a master recipe for canning something, be it a fruit, vegetable, or something like tuna, and then shows you how you can put it to use in an actual meal.  Months from now, when the sun shines only a few hours a day and the ground is frozen solid, while I eat a hearty dish of Roasted Chicken and Cauliflower, a delicate Poached Fish Salad with pickled vegetables, or Penne with Pork and Cauliflower, I will look back with fondness on the Saturday I pretended to be one of Laura Ingalls Wilder's sisters living on the prairie. 

Short of tossing around a pig's bladder as a balloon, I can now attest that at least part of prairie living - canning and preserving - is really kind of fun.  Although I started this post suggesting that this project was a big undertaking (for I really thought it would be), all told, it probably took less than an hour and a half.   It I hadn't been taking my sweet time, as I am want to do on a lazy Saturday, I probably could have canned all this cauliflower start to finish in under an hour.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED

SUPPLIES (most you already have on hand)

- (6) 6 oz. canning jars (available at your local hardware store or grocery store).  I used jars I had hanging around the house, and came up with the four 6oz jars and two 4oz jars you'll see in the photos below.  Don't freak out, everything turns out just fine.

- (6) rims and lids.  If you buy new jars, they will usually come with all the lids and rims you'll need.  The great thing about canning jars is that they can be repurposed for all sorts of things, but know this: lids cannot be reused in future canning projects and can be purchased separately from your local canning jar supplier.

- a large stock pot that is taller than the jars (you'll be sterilizing them in boiling water in just a minute).

- a medium-sized, non-reactive saucepan.

- spring-loaded tongs.  Alternatively, if when purchasing your canning supplies you see canning tongs, get those.  Some places sell handy-dandy canning kits that come with all the tools you'll need for this project.

- an oven mitt to protect your hand.

- a drying rack or kitchen towel to place between your jars and kitchen counters.

INGREDIENTS (again, most you already have on hand)

- 1 quart of white wine vinegar or plain white vinegar (5% acidity) (I used a mixture of both)

- 1 large onion, sliced thinly

- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

- 2 cups sugar

- 2.5 lbs cauliflower (approximately two heads)

- pickling or kosher salt

Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat, add 1/4 cup pickling or kosher salt for every gallon of water in the pot.  Add the cauliflower florets and boil them for about 3 minutes and drain.  Keep in mind that the cauliflower will have time to finish cooking later in the canning process!

In a medium non-reactive pot, stir together the vinegar, sugar, onions, and hot red pepper flakes.  Bring to a boil over medium heat and simmer for 5 minutes, then remove from heat.

Bring 6 pint jars and their ring bands to a boil in a large pot of water fitted with a rack, if you have one (it keeps the jars from jiggling around). I don't have one, but it wasn't a problem.  Boil for 10 minutes. Remove the jars and ring bands with tongs and air dry on a tea towel.  Bring the water down from a boil to a simmer, and add the new jar lids to soften their rubber edges.  Do not get rid of the water in this large pot until I say so!

When the jars are dry but still hot, gently pack the cauliflower and the onions into the jars. I just used tongs to scoop some of the onion mixture out of the vinegar solution and alternated cauliflower and onion layers in the jar.  Pack loosely so the cauliflower retains its shape.  Cover the vegetables with the vinegar solution, making sure the hot red pepper flakes are distributed well throughout, and leave 1/2 to 3/4 inch of headspace above the vinegar solution.  Wipe the rims of the jars with a towel, place the lids on the jars, and screw on the ring bands fingertip-tight.

Gently place the jars back in the large pot of water.  Bring the water to a boil over high heat, and process the cauliflower for 10 minutes.  Turn off the heat, let the jars sit for a few minutes, then remove them from the water.  (They’ll be hot, so if you don’t have canning tongs, ladle out some of the boiling water and grab the jars using an oven mitt.)  Don’t leave the jars in the water to cool, or the cauliflower will overcook.

Allow the cauliflower to season in a cool, dark place for 4 weeks before using it, after which it will keep for up to a year. Refrigerate after opening. 

But wait!  How can your cauliflower sit on your pantry shelf, unrefrigerated for so long?  According to The Science of Cooking's article on home canning safety, in the first 6-8 hours after you finish the canning process, "the atmospheric pressure outside the jar is greater than the pressure inside. This difference in pressure pulls the lid down onto the jar and forms a vacuum seal."  When the seal forms, you'll hear a popping noise. 

If you were washing your hair or your favorite episode of Dragnet was on and you didn't hear the popping noise, don't worry, you'll still be able to tell if the seal has formed.  Press down gently on the top of the lid.  If it gives, it hasn't formed a seal yet.  Generally, you can re-process a jar within 24 hours.  Try a new jar or lid, and give it another go.  If you have more questions, check out PickYourOwn.org, a great canning website (and a one-stop website to find out where to pick fruits and vegetables in your neck of the woods!)

I hope I've inspired you to give this a try.  It's not as scary as it looks.  It's not scary at all.  The best part about it is that you'll not only have fun, you'll walk away from this project with a great sense of satisfaction (that'll hit you when you hear the last pop! AND when you enjoy the fruits of your labor in the months to come).  You were productive and frugal.  You were old school and trendy.  Your tastebuds and wallet will thank you. 

Ok, now you can get rid of the water in the large pot.

Comments

[Sarah Burt]

Your food writing is excellent, Katherine.

[Kathryn]

Thanks, Sarah Burt! We should cook together sometime - I'm interested in trying that lamb stock you made the other day!

[Kit]

I love this, but as a food novice I have to wonder why would I want to pickle cauliflower. Thoughts?

[Kathryn]

Great question, Kit - stay tuned! I find that one of the biggest struggles in shopping and cooking for one is that often food goes to waste before a Menu for Oner can eat it all. Canning fruits and vegetables, especially in small quantities can really help fix this problem. Check back next week for more on this! A myriad of vegetables can be preserved, but why did I pick(le) cauliflower? Because it's awesome! (and cheap, and in season).

[Becky]

So I was thinking about this post because with the crazy weather and road conditions in Atlanta this week, we actually were in danger of scurvy! We haven't left our house since Sunday, and the fresh fruits and vegetables ran out. Some neighbors braved it to Publix and said there was not a green thing to be had on the shelves. Which means that I would have been well served by taking your advice and pickling some cauliflower when I had the chance!