It’s pickling season baby! And if you don’t like to eat plain vegetables, I don’t blame you—yuck! Spice them up by pickling them! I am super enthusiastic about pickling ever since I first tried my Kansas pickled eggs. They are seriously TO DIE FOR!
I recently became a part of a farm share. Weekly, I pick up a bunch of farm fresh goodies like asparagus, radish, leafy greens, and more. With an abundance of vegetables sitting on my counter, I was like what the heck am I going to do with all of these? If I didn’t eat my leafy greens, I gave them to my picky chickens. I’m not a huge fan of mushrooms, so I shared them with my mushroom-loving neighbors. When it came to the radishes though, I was like what the heck? How do you cook radishes? Then…pickling popped into my mind.
How do you pickle vegetables?
Pickling vegetables is so dang easy and makes the vegetables taste way better in my opinion. All you need is some jars, a brine, spices, and your vegetables. A brine is simple: vinegar, water, sugar (optional), and salt. You pour the hot brine over the vegetables and spices in the jar, and you now have pickled vegetables. The longer they sit, the tastier they get.
How do you pickle radishes?
To make the most delicious pickled radishes, you will want to slice them thinly. Not so thin that you can see through them, but thin like in the picture above. Cut off the green ends and give them to your chickens like I did—they LOVED the green ends of the radishes. Once your radishes are cut, begin to layer them into clean canning jars. Put some pickling spices (peppercorns, mustard seeds, cloves, whatever you like) on the bottom of the jar, layer on some sliced radishes, and continue until the jar is almost full. Next, you will pour on the brine.
How do you make a pickling brine?
Water, vinegar, sugar (optional), and salt are all you need to make a delicious pickling brine. For pickled radishes from one bunch of radishes, I used 1 cup vinegar, 1/2 cup water, 2 teaspoons cane sugar, and 1 teaspoon salt. I heated this mixture and stirred it until the sugar and salt were dissolved then poured it into my prepared jar!
What spices do you use to pickle?
For this recipe, I used 1/4 teaspoon peppercorns, 1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds, and 1/4 teaspoon cloves. This made the tastiest pickled beets ever! I layered these spices amongst the sliced radishes in the jars to ensure an even assortment and flavoring.
Let’s get pickling!
Pickled Radishes
Ingredients
- 1 bunch radishes, sliced tin
- 1 cup white vinegar
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tsp cane sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp peppercorns
- 1/4 tsp mustard seeds
- 1/4 tsp whole cloves
Instructions
- Thinly slice your radishes. Not so thin that you can see through them but thin enough that the brine will be able to soak through them.
- Layer your spices and sliced radishes into clean jars starting with spices on the bottom then a layer of radishes and continue until the jar is almost full.
- Prepare your brine by heating the vinegar, water, sugar, and salt over medium heat on the stovetop. Stir until the sugar and salt are dissolved.
- Pour the hot brine over the prepared jar of radishes.
- Allow to cool and place in the fridge overnight, and enjoy your pickled radishes the next day!
