Homestead Pickled Cauliflower

A few years ago we made our first forays into fermenting and pickling.  There are so many ways to preserve the harvest and we want to give as many of them a try as we possibly can.  Our baby steps included making up a batch of sauerkraut and some pickled cauliflower.  I love cauliflower and pickles of most types are right up my alley so this week I'd like to share how we made our Homestead Pickled Cauliflower with you.  I hope you enjoy.

What you'll need:
2 heads of cauliflower
2 c. small white onion
1 c. pickling salt (non iodized)
1 c. sugar
3 c. white vinegar
2 tbsp white mustard seeds
1 tbsp celery seeds
1 sm. red hot pepper chopped and de-seeded
4 pint canning jars with rims and new lids
Water bath canner or large stock pot and canning rims

Here's what you'll do:
Setup your work area with all your ingredients.
Wash the cauliflower and break into flowerets.
Scald and cool the cauliflower by boiling for 4 minutes and then cooling completely.
Peel and chop the onion to preferred size.
Mix all vegetables (except the hot pepper) with salt
Add just enough water to cover and let stand for 18 hours.

Drain vegetables. Rinse in cold water and drain again.
Dissolve sugar in vinegar
Add mustard and celery seeds along with the chopped and de-seeded hot pepper (you could also use red pepper flakes to taste here) then bring to a boil.
Add the strained vegetables and simmer for 10 minutes until barely tender
Pack vegetables into hot canning jars
Fill with boiling hot liquid (don't waste any of that good pickling  juice!)
Wipe rims and seal

Refrigerate or process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes to preserve.

Makes 4 pints

If you are going to keep these in your refrigerator or eat them relatively soon I'd at least give them a couple of days to marinate in that yummy pickling solution.

I'm sure you have your own very good pickling recipes and I'd be happy to hear all about them.
Thanks for stopping by!


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