Old pickle recipe popular

Press, 7 March 1984, Page 9

Old pickle recipe popular

Alison Holst’s

rood Facts

Recently I discussed cucumber pickles on a radio programme. Many listeners wrote with questions about their own pickling recipes and techniques, and five people sent me their favourite cucumber pickle recipe.

Four out of the five recipes were for the same pickle, a very old recipe according to one of the senders. Here it ’is (with slight variations in quantities in brackets): “Peel, slice, then cook lib of apples in 1 (1%) pints of vinegar until soft, then add % (1) lb sugar, % teaspoon cayenne and 2oz (loz) salt. Bring to boil, add 1% lb minced cucumbers and 11b minced onions (and 2 tablespoons tumeric). Remove from heat and bottle.” For a few days my house smelt like a pickle factory as I experimented with this recipe, making half quantities. 1 finished up with two variations, both delicious. I added mustard and celery seed because I like pickles with these flavourings, but the pickles made without them are very good, too. Please yourself! Old fashioned cucumber pickle: 2 tart apples 2 medium onions 2 medium cucumbers 1 cup sugar 1 cup water 1 tablespoon tumeric 1 tablespoon mustard seed 2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon celery salt 2 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1 tablespoon acetic acid Halve the apples, core them, and slice with parallel cuts into thick, unpeeled slices. Peel, halve and slice the onions similarly. Peel the cucumbers only if their skins are tough. Halve 1 lengthwise. Scoop out seeds if cucumbers are mature

and centres are liquid. Slice

thinly. Bring the remaining ingredients to the boil in a large saucepan. As soon as the mixture boils add the sliced apple. Bring back to the boil and add the onion and cucumber. As soon as the mixture returns to the boil spoon it into carefully washed (small sized) preserving jars which have been preheated in a cool oven. Fill to overflowing. Seal with seals previously boiled for a few minutes. Screw bands on tightly. Try not to finish up with leftover liquid. Do not pack the pickle too tightly. Keep jars in the refrigerator when opened. This pickle looks very pretty with its sliced apple, etc. VARIATION:

Chop unpeeled apples, then onions, then cucumbers in a food processor. Chop them fairly small, but not to a mush. Add them at the' same time to the boiling liquid. Bring back to the boil then thicken with 1 tablespoon of cornflour mixed with 2 tablespoons of water. Bottle and seal as above, or pour into clean, hot jam jars. When cool, cover with melted paraffin or candle wax, then with cellophane tops. NOTE:

Replace acetic acid and water with 1% cups white or malt vinegar. (Always take great care when working with glacial acetic acid, which you buy from a chemist Cover immediately after use, and store in a high, safe place away from children.) ______