Pickling!

So yeah, I saw this Smitten Kitchen post, and got a wild hare about…pickling. This morning, bright and early, I went a-marketing for mustard seed and veggies to soak in brine. I even went a little wild…and bought some cabbage. Now, I dislike cabbage as a rule, but I’m going to see if pickling it–and making my own sauerkraut–will help me over my fear and distaste. Also, homemade sauerkraut is supposed to do good things for your gut bacteria.

And now…for the pickle odyssey! (Pickdyssey? Odypickle?)

Cup of water, cup of vinegar, sugar, salt, mustard seed…multiply as needed…

The dough bucket on the right is full of a poolish-based rye-and-whole-wheat bread dough undergoing its bulk rise. Which is in the oven as I type this. Kitchen chemistry and biology is pretty damn awesome.

Chop, chop. Chop chop chop. Chop. Chop. And chop some more.

I realized that I could spend a LONG TIME julienning everything, and realized at the same moment that I have a very spiffy food processor. This provoked a happy kitchen dance, during which I almost, almost forgot I was holding a knife.

But not quite.

There was even a bowl of odds and ends for the cavies! No cabbage, though. If they get gas and blow up like little balloons, the kids would be very upset. I’d be pretty vexed too.

That’s cabbage down at the far end, waiting for the brine all by its lonesome. I do have some sauerkraut on the kitchen counter, but the jar here is pickled instead of fermented. I am not sure how either of them are gonna pan out, I have to tell you. At least it’ll be a fun science experiment.

I had to make another batch (or three) of brine while the jars waited patiently.

Aren’t they pretty?

The aftermath. Not so pretty. Fortunately the dishwasher hasn’t given up on me yet. I

Whew. Picklin’ ain’t easy. I’ll keep you guys updated on the sauerkraut…