h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I much prefer carrots to cucumbers for pickling, but they are much harder to find. So my wife makes them on the stove top in Mason jars. The ingredients include vinegar, onions, mustard seeds (I think), whole black pepper (I think), and especially jalapenos. Tasty, crunchy and cheap - carrots are about fifty cents a pound in big bags.

Dear Steve K,

I am in to making my own pickles, chutneys and preserves, and I was interested to see your comments from 2004 about pickled carrots. As I grow a lot of my stuff in two gardens, how about you giving us a proper recipe to follow.

Best regards

Riprap-Chunkey

Sure, but my wife is away at the moment. I'll get the recipe when she's back (only responding now to keep it high on my list).

OK, here you go:

Carrot Sticks
1 TBSP Mustard Seed
2 Tsp Peppercorns
4 Cloves Garlic
1/2 Jalapeno, Sliced (or 1 Tsp Red Pepper)
1/2 Onion, Sliced
Vinegar

Add spices to a quart jar (we use Mason jars), pack in carrot sticks, leaving ~1 inch at the top. Fill jars with white vinegar. Cover & seal finger tight. Place jars on an old cookie sheet & bake at 400 F for 45 minutes or until boiling lightly. Remove jars & cool, then I usually keep refrigerated after opening a jar.

Note - A 5 # bag of carrots (I got one recently for $1.50!) makes about five quarts.

Lemme know how it goes - you may want to experiment with other spice blends.