Many recipes call for a basic premixed group of spices called pickling spice. Well I had the hardest time trying to figure out what this meant for years. Grandma had a different set of spices for each thing she was canning or pickling. Here is a basic set of spices that you can combine and then enhance with whatever extra thing you want for each different recipe you are making. *
Basic Mixed Pickling Spices
- 1 cinnamon stick, broken into pieces
- 1 dried chili pepper, the short slender Japanese kind, broken up
- 2 teaspoons dried ginger granules (chunks)
- 1 1/2 tablespoon crushed bay leaves **
- 1 tablespoon cardamom seed, crushed, not ground
- 1 1/2 tablespoon mustard seed
- 1 tablespoon allspice
- 1 tablespoon coriander
- 1 tablespoon whole peppercorns ***
Put this entire amount into a small muslin tea bag and soak in the hot water, and vinegar while you are getting the water bath up to temperate, and cutting your vegetables. Remember to remove the bag when pouring in the jars.
Mixed Pickling Spice Notes:
** With the Bay Leaves, I just use the old dried out crumbly ones left in the jar, and increase the amount to 2 tablespoons. I use the freshest whole ones in my Italian cooking and other med dishes.
*** I mix my peppercorns in the following ratio, black 3/5, green 1/5 and red 1/5, for a good taste.
Pickled Spiced Peaches
* Here is an example of how to enhance your basic spice mix. If you wanted to make Pickled Spiced Peaches in early summer for a wonderful Thanksgiving feast, you would add another cinnamon stick, broken into pieces and 1 1/2 tablespoon of cloves, increase the ginger from 2 teaspoons to a full tablespoon and add a second tablespoon of cardamom. I would also leave out the pepper and half the peppercorns. Then when you make up each jar, I add one whole stick of cinnamon stick, 3-4 whole allspice berries, and 5-8 whole cloves to each jar, then add the peaches and the "heavy" syrup.
Tags: Basic Mixed Pickling Spices cinnamon dried chili pepper dried ginger crushed bay leaves cardamom seed mustard seed allspice coriander and whole peppercorns Pickled Spiced Peaches |
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