N otes on vinegar
Usegood-qualityvinegarthat
containsatleast4-6percentacetic
acid;poor-qualityvinegarscontain
lessaceticacidandarenotgood
forpreserving.Youwillfindthe
acidlevelofvinegarslistedonthe
backofthebottle.If youwantto
preservethenaturalcolouroflight
colouredvegetables,suchas
caulifloweroronions,optforwhite
winevinegarordistilledvinegar.
Harsh-tastingvinegarscanbe
balancedouttosomedegree
withsugarandspices.●2 3 3
P
icklescanbeassimpleas
vegetablespackedintojars
withvinegar,theresultbeing
a picklethat’scrispandsharp.
Sugarandotherflavouringswill
balanceacidityandaddcomplexity.
Therecipehereis forLebanese
pickledturnip,beetrootandapple,
whichis traditionallyservedaspart
ofa mezeplatter.Astheturnippickles,
it firstturnspink,thenbeetrootred
and,bytheendoftheprocess,thetwo
vegetablesareindistinguishable. This
recipe makes 10 cups.Stepbystep
1
Stir2 tbspfineseasaltand2 tbsp
castersugarwith125ml(1/2cup)
boilingwaterina largejuguntil
dissolved.Add375ml(11/2cups)cold
tapwater,750ml(3cups)whitewine
vinegarand 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced.2
Peel1kgturnipsand2 medium
beetroots,thencutinto1cm-thick
wedges.Peelandcore1 GrannySmith
appleand cut into thin wedges.3
Divideturnip,beetrootandapple
among sterilised jars, packinginfairlytightly.Pricklonggreenchillies
witha skewer and place one in each jar.4
Pourovervinegarmixturethen
sealwithlidsandcooltoroom
temperature. Label and date jars.5
Refrigeratejars,rotatingonce
a dayfor3 days.Pickleswillstore
unopenedinthefridgefor3 months;
consume within 2 months once opened.HOWTOUSEAddpicklestofalafelpita
pockets,sandwichesora mezeplatter
with dips – see recipes page 88.Methodsforsterilisingjars
1 Putjarsandlidsthroughthehottestcycleofa dishwasherwithoutusing
anydetergent. 2 Liedownjarsandlidsina hotwaterurn,coverwithcold
waterthencoverboilerwitha lid.Bringwatertotheboilovera highheat
andboiljarsfor 20 minutes. 3 Standjarsupright,withouttouchingeachother,
ona woodenboardonthelowestshelfintheoven.Turnovenontolowest
possibletemperature,closethedoorandheatjarsthroughfor 30 minutes.
Removefromovenordishwasherwitha towel,orfromboilingwaterwithtongs
andrubber-glovedhands;waterwillevaporatefromhotwetjarsquitequickly.
Standjarsupright,withouttouchingeachother,ona woodenboardora bench
coveredwitha towel(toprotectandinsulatethebench).Pourhotpreserves
intohotjarsuntilfilledtothetop(unlessindicatedotherwisebytherecipe).
Holdjarsfirmlywitha towelorovenmittandsecurelidstightly.Leavepickles
tocoolatroomtemperaturebeforelabellingjarsandrefrigerating.PHOTOGRAPHY BEN DEARNLEY & WILLIAM MEPPEM. STYLIST SOPHIA YOUNG.
GOURMET TRAVELLER 51