Summer is coming. I think there is nothing better than an icy cold martini on a hot summer evening. What food goes well with a martini? Something pickled! I love a plate of cheese and crackers with an array of pickled fruits and vegetables to accompany my martini.
Everything I’m going to discuss is a refrigerator pickle, not canned. They aren’t shelf stable and need to be kept in the refrigerator. This means you are free to experiment.1 I have read hundreds (literally) of pickling recipes in an attempt to come up with a base recipe that you could riff off of and create your own recipes – much like dressing is a 3:1 oil to vinegar ratio. I cannot claim that I have defined one from my investigation. The recipes are all over the place. Some have no salt or no sugar. Others use lots of sugar, but no salt, some use lots of salt and no sugar.
Michael Ruhlman in Ratio says a brine should be a 20:1 ratio of water to salt (2 ½ cups water to 2 T Morton’s kosher salt) and he uses it for some fermented style pickles, though not refrigerator pickles. Tamar Adler of An Everlasting Meal gives several suggestions. First, she says you can use nothing but vinegar and salt. For a brine, she suggests using one and a half times as much vinegar as water and for every four cups of liquid, add ¼ cup salt and ¼ cup sugar and simmer until they dissolve. Or, don’t measure and adjust the salt and sugar until you like it (Chapter 18). I find her suggestion a little too sweet and salty, so I adjust. The goal is to help you understand the techniques used.
In general, for the kind of pickles I’m talking about, you need vinegar, water, salt, sugar and spices. For my experiments, I use 1 cup water, 1 cup vinegar, 1 tablespoon each salt and sugar. Then add additional spices depending on what you are pickling and your own tastes. It is easy to scale up if necessary and I frequently adjust the level of salt or sugar.
I have used this to pickle cherries by adding cinnamon and cloves. Pack a clean jar with pitted cherries. Put the vinegar, water, salt and sugar in a pan, add a cinnamon stick and a teaspoon of cloves and bring to boil (for the basic brine – scale up as necessary). Once the brine is boiling, remove from heat and pour over the packed cherries. Make sure all the cherries are covered with the brine. Let cool uncovered to room temperature, then cover tightly and store in the refrigerator. They are ready to eat after sitting overnight (12 hours). I love them with duck or tossed into a salad.
I’ve used this basic brine with cauliflower adding onion and a few sprigs of fresh thyme. I put the onion and thyme in the jar with the cauliflower and poured the basic brine over it. Again, cool to room temperature then close tightly and put in the refrigerator. They were crunchy and made an excellent addition to salads (as well as just eating them with a martini) or alongside fish.
The next few recipes all come from someone else, but are ones I really like. They also show the wide variety of pickling recipes. I will note that when I follow the recipes, I don’t often have enough brine. In those cases, I just top up the jars with vinegar. What I hope you learn is that there are many ways to make pickles. Each recipe is done in a different way.
First, are pickled carrots. I have this recipe written on a card and have no idea where it came from. I cut the carrots into matchsticks and slice onions thin. I pack them into a quart jar. Then, I toast 1 T mustard seed, 2 t coriander and 2 t black pepper corns. Then I add the brine ingredients. The brine is 1 cup apple cider vinegar, 1 cup water, 2 T kosher salt and 3 T sugar. Bring that to a boil, stirring to make sure the salt and sugar dissolve, then pour over the carrots. Cool to room temperature, then cover tightly and store in the refrigerator. I use them in fish tacos or serve them with pork chops. These are addictive and I make them frequently -they should last for up to a month though mine never last that long because I eat them a cup at a time. I also make smaller recipes and eat them, so that I don’t have to worry about getting bored. I’ve also used the leftover brine in place of vinegar in salad dressings. Works really well.
Oscar disapprovingly notes, “I cannot eat that.”
My pickled mushrooms recipe comes from the Washington Post. These are supposed to sit in the refrigerator for a week before eating. I never make it – day 5 I’m eating some of them with a roast chicken, a steak, or just on their own. The recipe says they will last for several months, but again, mine don’t last that long (though I usually only make half a recipe.)
Next are pickled grapes. The recipe comes from Simple, Fresh, Southern by The Lee Brothers. I enjoy these because they are sweet and spicy. I’ve given them to a neighbor who used them in martinis instead of an olive. I toss these in salads and also serve with roast pork. The recipe is 6 cups mixed red and green seedless grapes (I just use red), 2 cups of white vinegar, 1 cup of water, 2 tablespoons kosher salt, 2 teaspoons sugar, 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed, leaves from a four inch sprig of rosemary, ½ teaspoon crushed red chile flakes.
Pack the grapes into 3 pint sized glass containers with lids. Put water and vinegar into a sauce pan, and add the salt, sugar, garlic, rosemary and chile flakes. Heat to a simmer, then remove from heat and divide among the three pint sized containers. Cover loosely and let cool to room temperature. Then cover tightly and store in the refrigerator. They are ready to eat after an hour in the refrigerator. Keep for two weeks if they last that long.
The last recipe I want to discuss is pickled apples. This recipe comes from the apple council and I don’t have a link. Served with cheddar cheese (and a martini), these are awesome. I’ve also laid pickled apple slices on top of a pork loin for the last ten to fifteen minutes of cooking. This recipe is different in that you don’t heat the vinegar mixture. Tamar Adler of An Everlasting Meal suggests just putting vegetables into leftover brine from pickles or capers and letting them pickle, so this is similar to that idea.
Use 1 English cucumber (unpeeled), sliced thin and tossed with 1 tablespoon salt. Let sit for 20 minutes, then rinse and drain. Meanwhile, core and slice thin two apples (unpeeled), 2 medium shallots (or ½ red onion) and 1 jalapeno pepper, sliced crosswise. Whisk together ¾ c apple cider vinegar, 1 cup water and ½ cup sugar (I use ¼ cup). Add a cinnamon stick and a star anise pod to the vinegar mixture and pour over the apples, shallots and jalapeno. Add the cucumber and toss. Let sit for 30 minutes and serve. Keeps in the refrigerator in a tightly covered container for two weeks. These are great on sandwiches. I’ll also note that when I haven’t had a jalapeno available, I’ve substituted crushed red pepper flakes.
I hope the recipes I’ve shown here demonstrate the wide variety of things that can be pickled and the wide variety of pickling brines that can be used. I’ve also given you a few basic brines to use for experiments. I hope this inspires you try pickling vegetables or fruit. I can imagine using a basic recipe to pickle peaches with habanero peppers, or green beans with some marjoram and garlic. Much like salad dressings, pickling fruits and vegetables is an opportunity to experiment and be creative. There aren’t any wrong answers, just make what you like.
—- 1 If you find a canned pickle recipe you like, you can use it for refrigerator pickles. You can’t go the other way. Don’t screw around with canning recipes. Botulism doesn’t make you sick; it makes you dead.
Brett just might have been carried off by a face eating bath saltzer. We can’t be sure. So I am throwing a few hasty links out, to keep the chance of mob action/rioting low…
Imma go call the FL State coppers, maybe there is a report or somesuch.
P.S. Muscle in middle of right shoulder blade got a nice bunch lidocaine shot into it…I have a small mound of steroids to take and a muscle relaxant for nighttime. I should be less ready to cowbutt the lot of ye. But don’t push it…
The time is upon us. It’s time to start signing up for the Spring BIF (Beer It Forward, if you don’t know what it is yet, click here). Signing up will mean you’ll be both receiving, and responsible for shipping, between 72-96 ounces of locally produced beer from and to another participant. You will be required to at least provide your general location (to avoid shipping to someone you could just drive the beers to). If you wish to include swag (glasses, stickers, coasters, shirts, etc) from the local breweries, it is encouraged, but not required.
For shipping beer, you can look at this guide to see about the best packaging and shipping methods. I generally recommend cans and crowlers (32 oz cans filled and sealed at a brewery/bar) over bottles (and strongly recommend against growlers). Do not ship USPS, as it is a felony.
To sign up, I’d ask you to e-mail me at my handle at the mail of Google, as well as posting in this thread. In your e-mail to me, at least provide your handle and general location. If you have beer preferences or dislikes, then please include those as well. At some point you will need to provide your address to someone so that they can ship to you (if you provide it to me, I’ll pass it along).
I will also do my best to avoid having any previous participant from shipping to someone they’ve shipped to before. This is a great way to learn about beers that aren’t available in your area, and to share your favorite local beers with someone elsewhere in the country. I’d like to keep sign ups open up until about May 18th, with the plan of having everything shipped by June 7th.
A week long shoulder problem has left me quite ornery – I am leaving work at mid-day to go to convenient care and get this @#$% fixed. But, personal whinging aside, the Links must flow…er, be posted. So, your linkings are as follows:
While Illinois is doing the right thing – they are making sure they crony and exception their way forward. “The measure would also create a designation for “social equity applicants” hoping to obtain licenses and provide minority-owned businesses support by offering technical assistance, access to capital and loans and relief from fees that have posed a barrier to entry for those looking to crack into the state’s pot industry — which is currently dominated by a handful of predominantly-white medical marijuana companies.“
This sure beats Uber… “On Sunday, the king was carried through the streets on a gilded palanquin for the royal procession.” It is good to be the king.
“You see what I did to this animal that displeased me..don’t you let me down, or I will be wearing your hide, next.”
A bit late today…I got caught up in a dispute down on the Ricola wrapping line. Man, those things hurt when they get fired out of a crossbow. Anyways, order has been restored, and I am free to give you a sneak peek at the week to come.
Monday – Beer it Forward returns. Tulip pickles things. Hmmm… a very consumable oriented day it seems. (Animal will likely return the next Monday, continuing the Bolt Guns series).
Wednesday – SugarFree continues to molest our minds. Not Adhan has a thought on STEVE SMITH.
Thursday – ron73440 gives us dark humor. Sensei continues his Japanese lessons via Anime titles.
Friday – wdalasio ponders culture. Cryptid of the Week visits.
Weekend – The usual suspects will be rounded up – OMWC, mexican sharpshooter, Not Adahn, and others.
Daily links will continue from me, Banjos and OMWC.
We have had a good response to our plea for materials, as you can see. However, there is always room for your contributions! As in, next week and after that… Thank you for your continued support of our humble site.
I’ll keep this brief so you can get back to your holiday drinking.
The new feature in the sky (and lasting until September) is Saturn going into retrograde motion. This makes Saturn difficult to read confidently, as it now causes both beginnings and very, very bad endings. It also take part in our first alignment: Mars-Sol-Saturn (retrograde) = a war breaks out this week. Sorry about that. The second one is much better, we get the Earth aligning with the moon and the sun which signals general benevolence. It’s not ideal, being the sort that leads to a new moon, but I’ll take it. Indeed, this particular new moon shows higher than usual potential for auspicious beginnings, so if you were going to start a business or ask out that hottie, this is as good a time as can be reasonably expected.
Staying on the subject of Saturn (retrograde) it’s still loafing around in Capricorn. Now Capricorn is the sign of wisdom, tempermentality, and fine leather goods. For the past far too many weeks, Saturn has been inhibiting our thinking, making it more ponderous than it should be. Now that it has gone retrograde, we should experience extremes of judgment, both flashes of insight and extremely stupid decisions. Good luck telling the difference. With the new moon in Taurus there is great potential — the new moon is the seed, a thing unrealized, the sign of beginning. But the beginning of what exactly? Unfortunately in this case, the facing sign is “the hidden threat.” Find it, catch it, kill it. Too bad about that whole Saturn retrograde in Capricorn when it comes to correctly identifying what the threat is. Whether it’s spring or because Venus and Mercury are in the sign of the Goat, you will feel… inclinations this week.
Taurus: 5 of Swords – Degradation, destruction, infamy, reversal, dishonor, loss
Gemini: 10 of Coins – Gain, riches, archives, family home, extraction
Cancer: 2 of Wands, reversed – Surprise, wonder, emotion, fear
Leo: The Chariot – Succor, providence, war, triumph, presumption, vengeance
Happy Sunday to all, and I dearly hope you’re doing drunk posting of dick jokes from church. “Sunday” derives from the Latin term for “mimosas with a screwdriver chaser.” So that’s how we’re doing OUR Sunday. It is Cinco de Mayo, so drinking is obligatory- we’re moving to tequila next.
Norman Blake is a fucking genius. Here’s a song that Tony Rice made famous with his cover, but the way Blake (who wrote it) does the song is a lesson on tasteful and expressive playing.
“If you live in the Midwest, where else do you want to live besides Chicago? You don’t want to live in Cincinnati or Cleveland or, you know, these armpits of America.” So declaredStephen Moore, the man Donald Trump wants to install on the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors, during a 2014 event held at a think tank called, yes, the Heartland Institute.
The crowd laughed.
Moore is an indefensible choice on many grounds. Even if he hadn’t shown himself to be extraordinarily misogynistic and have an ugly personal history, his track record on economics — always wrong, never admitting error or learning from it — is utterly disqualifying.
His remarks about the Midwest, however, highlight more than his unsuitability for the Fed. They also provide an illustration of something I’ve been noticing for a while: The thinly veiled contempt conservative elites feel for the middle-American voters they depend on.
This guy again? Stephen Moore. Stephen Moore? Stephen Moore! Motherfucking STEPHEN MOORE. How many moore of these columns are you going to dedicate to STEPHEN MOORE
Seriously, did he sleep with your wife or something?
This is not the story you usually hear. On the contrary, we’re inundated with claims that liberals feel disdain for the heartland. Even liberals themselves often buy into these claims, berate themselves for having been condescending and pledge to do better.
But what’s the source of that narrative? Look at where the belief that liberals don’t respect the heartland comes from, and it turns out that it has little to do with things Democrats actually say, let alone their policies. It is, instead, a story line pushed relentlessly by Fox News and other propaganda organizations, relying on out-of-context quotes and sheer fabrication.
Conservative contempt, by contrast, is real. Moore’s “armpit” line evidently didn’t shock his audience, probably because disparaging views about middle America are widespread among right-wing intellectuals and, more discreetly, right-wing politicians.
Hey dumbass. Everyone makes fun of Cleveland. It’s an easy target, plus people there cheerful and have pretty good humor about it.. Contrast this with Chicago where walking in the wrong neighborhood will get you shot by the locals, or some asshole says you have weed and the cops break down the door of your business looking for kickbacks and shooting my workers.
…and lets be real, I hate fucking cops. They think they can get everything for free…
…and he’s making me defend Cleveland. Christ, what an asshole…
Let’s be clear: There is a real economic and social crisis in what one recent analysis calls the “Eastern Heartland.” This region suffers from persistently low employment among working-age men and has seen a surge in mortality from alcohol, suicide and opioids — “deaths of despair,” in the phrase of Anne Case and Angus Deaton.
What lies behind this crisis? The view of most liberals, as far as I can tell, is that it reflects declining economic opportunity, changes in the economy that have favored metropolitan areas over rural communities. On this view, declining opportunity has led to social disruption, in the same way that the disappearance of urban industry undermined inner-city communities a half century ago.
Those industries didn’t disappear, they went to Texass.
Many conservatives, however, blame the victims. They attribute the heartland’s woes to a mysterious collapse in morality and family values that somehow hasn’t affected coastal cities. Moral collapse is the theme of books like Charles Murray’s “Coming Apart: The State of White America,” and of innumerable articles. One widely read essay in National Review went so far as to label the troubled Eastern Heartland “the white ghetto,” whose people are too indolent to move to where the jobs are.
So who, exactly, doesn’t respect middle America?
When it comes to politicians, of course, what they say is much less important than what they do. So what do the policy choices of liberal and conservative pols say about how they value the heartland? Some Democrats, notably Elizabeth Warren, have been offering real proposals to help rural areas. They’re probably not enough to reverse rural and small-town economic decline, which would be hard to do even with plenty of money and the best will in the world. But they would help.
…but you guys are alright, don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise. In light of yet another passing of a holiday in Mexico that seems to be celebrated more in the United States because it is a convenient marketing pitch for companies selling tequila, tortillas, Ford pickup trucks, etc.
This is my review of Modelo Chelada
Why on God’s Green Earth did I drink this? Somebody here was yammering on about it for a couple days and probably thought he was being ignored.
Then he/she/xe/ did it again the next day to a much less…tepid response.
I assure you, just because something is terrible does not mean it is fake.
What is this crap anyways? Chelada, or Michelada is a popular Mexican drink. The difference being that Michelada contains spices and chilli. No spices and chillies are not necessarily the same thing, but that is another matter for another time. Chelada is simply beer served in a chilled glass, with lime, and a salt rim like a Margarita. I decided this would be less nauseating than the Michelada in a can. If you want to actually have a Michelada or a Chelada cocktail, might I suggest actually making the cocktail, which I leave the below recipe:
Ingredients
– 2teaspoons honey (spread into a thin layer on a plate)
– 1/4cup kosher salt
– 1/2teaspoon smoked paprika
– 1/8teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
– 2limes (juiced, plus extra lime wedges to garnish)
– 2cups beer (light Mexican)
– 2 1/2teaspoons worcestershire sauce
– 2teaspoons hot sauce (preferably a more vinegar based hot sauce such as Tabasco)
– 1teaspoon low sodium soy sauce
– 1/2jalapeno (seeded and diced, optional)
– cracked black pepper (freshly)
Directions:
1. Dip the rims of two glasses into the honey. (you want only a very thin layer)
2. Place salt, paprika and cayenne (if using) onto a plate and stir together with a fork until combined. Finish rimming glasses with salt mixture, fill with ice and set aside.
3. Fill a large shaker partially with ice followed by the remaining ingredients, except for the jalapeno. Close and shake until well mixed. Divide mixture among the two prepared glasses and finish with lime wedges, black pepper and jalpaenos (if using). Serve.
How is it in cans? Well to be honest I might be inclined to buy Modelo in the tall can again in the future, but not necessarily the Chelada version. It’s more or less like the abominable lime in the Corona thing that everyone seems to think is fashionable. Seriously, it’s just beer and lime, and adding salt tickles the salt receptors on the tongue. No, this is not urine. Stop telling yourself that. No, this does not exist because there is no potable water in Mexico. The totality of slightly palatable seawater mixed with beer and lime leads me to believe this has to be some kind of awful trick played on Gringos.
