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Pickled Gherkins
Put the gherkins into a large stone jar, and cover them with brine strong enough to carry an egg. Place the cover on the jar, and leave it for two or three days, until the gherkins begin to turn yellow; then drain them, and pour boiling vinegar over them. Put bay-leaves on the top, keep the jar in a warm place, and heat the vinegar afresh every day, till the gherkins turn as green as you wish. Boil fresh vinegar, and with it 1 large blade of mace, 2 ounces of whole pepper, 4 bay leaves, and half a dozen small silver onions to each quart. Put the gherkins into wide-mouthed bottles, pour the vinegar over them, first allowing it to cool a little, or it will crack the bottles, and cork securely when cold. Time, from a week to a fortnight.
A Victorian two-stage pickle: a salt cure to draw water, then repeated hot-vinegar pourings to fix the colour. The method works, but almost every quantity is given by eye.
- Brine strong enough to carry an eggThat test means roughly a 10 percent salt solution; add salt until an egg floats rather than working to a fixed measure. Use non-iodised salt; iodine and anti-caking agents cloud the brine and can darken the fruit.
- The hinge: heat the vinegar, not the gherkinsThe greening comes from repeated hot pourings that gradually cook the skins without ever boiling them in the pot. Once gherkins actually simmer they collapse, so drain, reheat the vinegar alone, and pour it back.
- A stone jarA glazed stoneware crock or a glass or food-grade plastic tub. Do not use copper, brass or a chipped enamel pan — old cooks got their bright green from copper salts, and that is exactly the practice to avoid.
- Vinegar strengthThe recipe assumes a full-strength pickling vinegar. Use one labelled at least 5 percent acetic acid and do not dilute it; the acidity is what keeps the finished jars sound.
- Silver onionsSmall silver-skin pickling onions, about the size of a marble. Pearl onions are the usual supermarket equivalent.
- 2 ounces of whole pepper per quartSomething close to half a cup of peppercorns to every quart of vinegar — fiercely strong by current taste. A tablespoon per quart, with the blade of mace and bay, gives a milder spiced vinegar.
- Warm placeMeans a spot near the range, warm but not hot, held for the days of the greening stage. Once the jars are filled and sealed, store them cool and dark, and refrigerate after opening.
- Corks and modern jarsCork and wax have no place now. Use canning jars with new two-piece lids, and if you want shelf-stable jars follow a current tested boiling-water-bath process for pickles rather than relying on the hot pour alone.
- TimeThe week to fortnight refers to the daily greening, not to curing. Give the finished pickles a further two to three weeks before eating so the spiced vinegar penetrates.