Pickle Chips, Sweet and Tangy

Sorting through my folks’ kitchen shelves before my Mom’s move, I discovered an old Jerusalem Post newspaper clipping. It was a recipe for pickle chips. I’d never considered making this, but it looked so easy that I had to try it. I did, and liked the pickles very much indeed. Now see if you like them.

The first few lines of the clipping had been cut off, so I can’t credit the author, but the date is Friday, June 30th, 1978.

Sweet & Tangy Pickle Chips

from the Jerusalem Post, author unkown

Ingredients:

1 1/2 kg. – 3 lb.  fresh, firm cucumbers

4 large onions

Kosher salt

1 1/2 cups white sugar

1 1/2 cups cider vinegar

1 heaping tsp. ground turmeric

6 whole cloves

4 allspice berries

2 sticks cinnamon

3 Tblsp. – 30 grams – mustard seeds

optional: 1 -3 dried chili peppers. I used 1 tiny shatach pepper and it was enough.

Method:

Use a large pot for this preparation. The vegetables take up a lot of room.

1. Rinse, but don’t peel the cucumbers. Slice them into thin circles; set aside.

2. Peel and slice the onions thinly. Set aside.

3. In a colander or sieve placed atop a large bowl (to catch the juices), put down alternate layers of cukes and onions, salting each layer generously before adding the next.

Drape a towel over the colander to keep insects off, and leave the vegetables alone for 3 – 4 hours.

When you’re ready to prepare the pickles, do this:

1. Put all the ingredients from the sugar on down into the large pot.

2. Bring the mixture to a vigorous boil, then reduce the heat to medium.

3. Add the cukes and onions. Simmer them for 3 minutes.

4. Pour the hot mixture into a large jar – put a wooden spoon in it first, though, to prevent it shattering. Cover and allow to cool.

5. Refrigerate for 24 hours. The pickles will then be ready, although they improve with a few more days in the fridge.

The pickles will stay crunchy and good for a long time. Not that they’ll stay around a long time: if your family likes pickles, they’ll love these. If you plan to keep extras in the pantry, please follow safe canning procedure.

When  putting food up for emergencies, consider this recipe.

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Pickled Lemons

Pickled vegetables in vivid colors decorate all our food, from falafel eaten out of hand to restaurant tables set with good china and cloth napkins. And there’s a good reason for that. The gem-like colors attract your eyes, then the sharp aroma of vinegar and salt rises up and makes your mouth water. You reach for a few slices of spicy, orange pickled carrots , or green cucumber well brined with garlic – some purple eggplant shiny with olive oil – some olives, in all of their black, green, or brown beauty – and munch. All of a sudden, you’re really hungry.

I discovered all kinds of uses for lemons when I moved to my present apartment.  Come winter, the lemon tree in the common yard is loaded with bright yellow, juicy fruit.  Having gotten tired of concocting sweet things from the lemons, I discovered a surprising way to use them in savory dishes: preserved in salt. Now I like to lay a  slice of pickled lemon on top of a stew about 20 minutes before it’s done cooking; serve quarters of them in a little bowl to accompany lamb chops; chop slivers of them to mix into salad; stir-fry some and scatter them over fish.

The first of the following recipes was taken from Elizabeth David’s Spices, Salt, and Aromatics in the English Kitchen. It’s the recipe I usually use. The second comes from Claudia Roden’s Book of Middle Eastern Food (1974). This book has an updated version from 2004,  The New Book of  Middle Eastern Food. I haven’t made this recipe, but intend to for my next batch of preserved lemons. You can hardly go wrong with recipes by Claudia Roden.

NOTE: Israeli Kitchen has moved. You’ll find the recipe for Pickled Lemons on my delicious new blog:

http://www.israelikitchen.com

All the old posts and recipes are there – and new ones, too. Hope to see you there!

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