Last Updated on 14 July 2025 by Adrienne
Table of Contents
Fermenting brine
Most vegetables can be fermented using a 5% salt solution i.e. 50 grams of salt dissolved in 1 liter of water. Use distilled water instead of tap water preferably. Make sure the jars are sterilized.
Home Made Pickling Spice
I got this recipe from the Charcuterie bible by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn.
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp black peppercorns
- 2 Tbsp mustard seeds
- 2 Tbsp coriander seeds
- 2 Tbsp dried chili flakes
- 2 Tbsp allspice berries
- 1 Tbsp ground mace / nutmeg
- 2 small cinnamon sticks broke into pieces
- 24 bay leaves, crumbled
- 2 Tbsp wholes cloves
- 1 Tbsp ground ginger
Roast the peppercorns, mustard seeds and coriander seeds slightly in a dry pan. Crush it slightly in a pestle and mortar and mix with the other ingredients. Store in an air tight holder.
Pickled Radishes
The original recipe can be found here.
Ingredients
- 1 bunch radishes, about 250g, properly cleaned and cut into 2-3mm slices
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup water
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ tsp dried crushed red pepper optional
- 1 whole star anise
Method
Place the radishes in a hot, sterilized jar.
Bring the rest of the ingredients to a boil in a pot. Pour the hot liquid in the jar, making sure the radishes are covered. Seal the jar.
Pickled Mushrooms
The original recipe can be found here.
Ingredients
- 500g Portobellini mushrooms (or white button mushrooms), cleaned
- Water, enough to cover the mushrooms
- 6 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- ½ cup white wine vinegar
- The Marinade
- 2 cups water
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 1 Tbsp salt
- 6 bay leaves
- 8 whole peppercorns
- 6 Tbsp white wine vinegar
Method
Blanch the mushrooms for 1 minute in boiling water and the ½ cup of white wine vinegar. Strain the mushrooms and put it in an airtight container(s) or glass jar(s) with the garlic. Discard the liquid.
Bring the water, sugar, salt, bay leaves and peppercorn to a boil in a separate pot. Once the salt and sugar have dissolved, remove the pot from the heat and stir in the 6 tablespoons of vinegar.
Pour the marinade over the mushrooms and seal the containers.