Have the pickles softened yet? Avoid these 7 mistakes

Have the pickles softened yet? Pickles are a perfect side dish for the fatty foods we eat in winter, but they don’t always work out for us. Here’s where we’re going wrong.

Avoid making these mistakes again

According to “Bon Appétit,” culinary editor Dawn Perry made a list of the most common mistakes we make when preparing pickles. Here’s what to avoid when doing them:

“Pickles are about vinegar and salt, not sweetness,” says Dawn Perry, adding that there’s nothing wrong with adding sugar, but you have to follow the recipe carefully because some recipes call for more than ¼ cup of sugar. So, “the brine should be salty, not syrupy.”

The more vinegar the better

• If you use just vinegar in the brine, it will be way too sour, Perry warns. Choose a recipe that also adds water. Similarly, the composition for pickles means more than water, salt, sugar or vinegar.

Basically, the main ingredients are water, salt, sugar or vinegar, but Perry believes that there should also be such spices in the brine.

• “Mustard seeds, peppercorns and bay leaves are the classics. When it comes to herbs, don’t just limit yourself to dill. Mint, basil or anything else from the garden will be great. Also, think twice before using red wine vinegar for pickling: it will turn all vegetables pink.

The pickles will be successful if you do this

• Some vegetables, such as crisp carrots and okra, should be cooked a little before they are pickled. Other vegetables, such as squash and cucumbers, do not need to be cooked ahead of time.
• You should also think about what kind of dish you will serve the pickles with. If you want a salad with everything, you will have to pickle the thinly sliced ​​carrots raw. If you will need whole pickles, especially during the holidays, you will have to boil the carrots longer, so that they are not very crunchy.
• Do not eat the pickles immediately after you have prepared them
• Unfortunately, some of us start eating pickles too quickly, says Dawn Perry, also warning that we shouldn’t think that pickles will be ready in three days. Some are much more difficult to make. For this reason they must be checked from time to time. Moreover, the expert points out that it would not be good to leave them too long either, because they will soften and turn sour, he also says, according to bonappetit.

It is wrong to pickle everything together

• You must take this advice into account: each vegetable must be pickled with the same type of vegetable, otherwise they will change their color, even their taste. For example, the juice left by red cabbage or red onion gives the rest of the vegetables a different color.
• Delicate vegetables like onions and zucchini will pickle much faster than heartier vegetables like radishes or carrots, Perry says.
• Another important point, there is nothing worse than cutting the vegetables, boiling the brine, and then realizing that you don’t have enough brine. Fill your bowl with water, then measure it into a measuring cup, says Perry.