Some food preservation recipes are classics, but even classics have variations. In fact, maybe more so than less time-honored recipes. How many versions of the best way to make dill pickles are there in books, online, scribbled on home-cook recipe cards?
It is by trying variations on a classic recipe that you start to develop your own favorite version. Maybe, like me, you love pickled beets, but not when they're as cloyingly sweet as most recipes make them. Maybe you are a fan of sweet-sour pickles such as bread 'n' butters, but aren't crazy about the taste of the cloves that are often included as seasoning.
Here are the variations on a few classics that I've come up with. They suit my personal tastes, and I hope you will try them and enjoy them. But I also hope that you will come up with your own "new" classic recipes.
Here are those beet pickles I mentioned, 2 ways -
Beet Salad Refrigerator Pickle
...and 2 versions of bread 'n' butter pickles -
Classic Bread 'n' Butter Pickles
Maple Bread 'n' Butter Pickles
...and 2 ways to make fantastic pickles in a hurry -
Quick Refrigerator Dill Pickles
When you experiment with classic recipes, be certain to do so safely. It is essential not to change the part of the recipe that preserves the food. Here's how to invent safe food preservation recipes.
Comments
Wonderful topic. I have done a lot of canning, but it is only a few years ago I perfected my own bread and butter pickles. I had cut out some sugar, and made them with plain vinegar, and apple cider vinegar. Both were OK. A casual conversation with a friend brought the statement from me: I like Apple cider vinegar, but it’s a bit much. That was a light bulb moment, and I tried the next batch with half white vinegar and half apple cider vinegar. Perfection!
The half cider – half white vinegar combo sounds great, Wendy!