Friday, January 6, 2012

Cauliflower Pickles

These Cauliflower Pickles are so addictive! They are great served alongside roasted meats, and make really good appetizer, in my case, so addictive to snack on, that it is so difficult to stop! I have made this a couple of times already, and everyone who has tasted this love it!



They do look kinda plain, but do not let that fool you, make a batch and see for yourself!


For full flavour, make these a couple of days before serving, I let them sit in the brine solution, stored in the fridge for three days before I actually eat them.  On the second day, I tested one (alright, a few!) and found that I got to add in more rice vinegar and sugar, depending on how sour or sweet you want. Stir with a chopstick or long spoon and wait for another day or two before consuming.


Do not cut the florets into big chunks, just cut them up into suitable sizes that are easy to pop into the mouth in one bite! It makes munching easier and is tastier as the solution gets soaked into the florets! Trust me! If you are not a fan of cauliflower, this might turn you around.


These should be eaten cold, right out from the fridge. Crunchy, sweet, sour with a tinge of the garlic and ginger. If you do not like the strong garlic smell, just reduce the amount to 1 clove. However, if you love garlic, do not be tempted to put in more, the taste of the garlic will be too strong. Just follow the recipe for the right amount of garlic. Pop the garlic and ginger in your mouth when you have finished with the cauliflower! Yum! Great as a refreshing appetizer for parties! I made this for a Christmas party two weeks ago and will be making this again for the coming Chinese New Year. There will be lots of "rich food" during festivities and this will be a great "snack"!


I'm sharing this with :
Cookbook Sunday hosted by Couscous & Consciousness
Full Plate Thursday hosted by Miz Helen's Country Cottage


This is the original recipe, you may adjust the rice vinegar, sugar and salt according to your own taste. This recipe makes a large amount. I halved the recipe and got three bottles as per the photos above.
Cauliflower Pickles
(adapted from "The Chinese Kitchen" by Eileen Yin-Fei Lo)
3 quarts cold water
5 garlic cloves, peeled
One 1-inch-thick slice fresh ginger
3-1/2 pounds fresh cauliflower, cut into 1-1/2-inch florets
1-3/4 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups Chinese white rice vinegar or distilled vinegar
5-1/2 cups cold water
4 teaspoons salt

  1. In a large pot, bring the 3 quarts of water to a boil with the garlic and ginger. Add the cauliflower and blanch for 30 to 45 seconds. Do not overcook. Remove from the heat and run cold water into the pot. Drain. Fill the pot with cold water and let the cauliflower rest in cold water for 15 minutes, then drain.
  2. In an oversized glass jar, place the sugar, vinegar, 5-1/2 cups water, and salt. Stir with a wooden spoon to ensure that the sugar and salt are completely dissolved. Add the cauliflower, garlic, and ginger. Cover the jar. (A jar with a plastic screw top is preferred, if unavailable, place a piece of plastic wrap over the top before closing.) Refrigerate for at least 24 hours before serving. Serve cold. The cauliflower pickles will keep, covered and refrigerated, for up to 6 months.

55 comments:

  1. Very tempting cauliflower pickle. Thanks for sharing this recipe.

    Deepa
    Hamaree Rasoi

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  2. Who would of thought this plain looking treat would be so addicting! :) I do love cauliflower any way you want to make it. I can't wait to try it this way!

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  3. Looks amazing; very similar to my recipe for carrot pickles.
    Rita

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  4. Joy these look wonderful and the flavor would be great. I never would have thought about a pickle, now I know what else I can do with cauliflower, thanks.

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  5. I love cauliflower and thanks for sharing this easy recipe. I definitely want to to make this for sure :)

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  6. What a great idea! I definitely have to try making some cauliflower pickles. Funny, I did a post about cauliflower yesterday too :)

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  7. I love cauliflower - one of my favourite vegetables. My partner is not a big fan though, so I often find that I end up with half a left over cauli going limp in the fridge. This would be a great way to use the surpluses.

    Thanks for sharing with Cookbook Sundays.

    Sue xo

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  8. I love cauliflowers... my missus had made it before and after reading your post, I shall request her to make again...

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  9. My friend is a pickle fiend, so these would be right up her alley!

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  10. I love pickled cauliflower! I haven't had it for years though, completely forgot about it until now! Thanks.

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  11. I love cauliflower and would not be able to keep my fingers out of the jar! They're awesome!

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  12. Love cauliflowers and these look delicious:)

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  13. Oh my goodness Joy, these Cauliflower Pickles look amazing and I can't wait to make them. Your photo has me drooling. Hope you are having a great week end and thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday.
    Come Back Soon!
    Miz Helen

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  14. I love pickled vegetable and this is yum! I got to try making my own pickled vegetables too.

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  15. wonderful blog and recipes... come and see me at my blog www.manna-mania-blogspot.com :)))

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  16. Oh how adore cauliflower especially as a snack! I can't wait to try this Joyce. I hope I can wait the three days though, I'm so bad at waiting, lol...

    Thank you so much for sharing...I'm looking forward to your New Year's posts. I just know they are going to be yummy!!!

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  17. This is perfect to serve during CNY too since we all makan Besar, hahaha. I definitely want to try this. Thanks for sharing.

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  18. I have always wanted to do this. Thanks for the reminder and a great recipe to follow

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  19. I absolutely love pickled cauliflower!! I have a similar recipe for Hot Giardiniera which calls for the addition of green and yellow peppers and carrots...simply delicious! I'm looking forward to tying your recipe!

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  20. wow, looks really delicious..must try on this recipe. i'm wondering if this method can be apply to making chillies too

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  21. Hi, wow! You made them? Holy Smoke! And I pay $3.00 at supermarket for these cauliflower pickles.
    Where were you when I was handing out my resume? Ha ha ha.
    You sure one talented lady!
    Have fun and keep a song in your heart.
    Lee.

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  22. Can I use ginger as a spice? I don't have fresh ginger. How much?

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  23. Can I use ginger spice instead of fresh?

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  24. Wondering if there is a way to cut back on the sugar. I buy pickled cauliflower and it is not sweetened. Thank you.

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    1. Hi K Kapp,
      You can cut down on the sugar, and add on later if you find the brine too sour. Enjoy!

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  25. Hi, have any of you that wanted to try this recipe, tried it yet????
    I've been trying to find the taste of a pickle I had as a kid. I'm 66yrs old now.
    I remember the taste as sour but also a little hot. From what I thought was mustard powder. Not mustard seeds. I'm not sure if I've ever even had a sour pickle. Is it a taste similar to sauerkraut??
    Thank you.

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    Replies
    1. Try it and see!! You could probably add mustard. Good luck!

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  26. Can these go in a water bath for long term storage?

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    1. Hi Alicia, I have not tried the water bath method before, so I've no idea if it works.

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  27. I am going to make it this weekend. Sounds so delicious! Thank you for the recipe.

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    1. I am tempted to make some too, have not made this in ages! Hope you will like this addictive pickle! Happy pickling!

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  28. I am assuming you reserve the 5 cl boiled garlic and ginger used for blanching to
    incorporate once again into the brine mixture???

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    1. Yes, the garlic, ginger and cauliflower are drained together after the initial blanching, and later mixed into the brine mixture. This is quite an addictive pickle, if you do give it a try, I hope you will enjoy it as much as we do!

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  29. Can you use apple cider vinegar with the mother?

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    1. Hi Renee, I have not tried using apple cider vinegar for this pickle, but I think it should be fine. If you are giving it a try, I hope it works for you.

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  30. How long of a piece of ginger do you use? Is it 1 inch thick by 1 inch long or a thinner slice of ginger with a one inch thick diameter? These sound delicious, thank you for the recipe!

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    1. Hi Danielle, You don't have to be precise with the size of the ginger. 1 inch thick by 1" diameter should be fine. Have fun making this pickle and hope you like it!

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  31. Could I use apple cider vinegar instead?

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    1. Hi Holly, I have not tried with apple cider vinegar, but I think that yes, you could use it for this pickle. You may have to adjust the amount of sugar to taste. Hope it works for you!

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  32. I'd like to try these. Does it all really fit into one jar? if so, what size?

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    1. Hi Margaret,
      Depends on the size of your jar. You may need about 3 or 4 jars with about 2 cups capacity. These cauliflower pickles are delicious and additive! Do give it a try!

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  33. Hubby just bought two large heads of cauliflower on a two for one sale so your pin popped up at a very opportune time. This recipe looks crispy crunchy delicious. Thank you for sharing.

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  34. I made these and a batch that I added some baby carrots to the jar as I didn't have enough cauliflower. They turned out great. Thanks for sharing the recipe. I will be making these again.

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  35. Glad to hear that yours turned out great! Adding baby carrots is a delicious addition! I can almost taste the sweet crunchiness of the carrots!

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  36. Do you think I could use a sugar substitute like Xylitol?

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    1. I have not tried with sugar substitute before, but I think that it might work, since pectin is not required for setting purposes. If you do try this, hope yours turn out great!

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  37. Can you do it without ginger don't like it

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    1. Yes, you can omit the ginger if you do not like it. Maybe add a teaspoon of juniper berries if you like, or even a piece of star anise or a few cloves, but go easy on the spices, as this pickle is not heavily spiced. It is a light pickle and very addictive eating on its own!

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  38. Saw this on Pinterest just now. I've pickled cauliflower using Korean Chef David Chang's recipe, and he uses the Japanese 7 spice Schichimi Togarashi. It was excellent. I love garlic and ginger, so I'll give this a try.

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  39. I made these according to the recipe. They are delicious!

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  40. I made these too, I ate them all after 2 days. The ginger added such a lovely touch!

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  41. I thank you so much for this post. I love a salad with pea shoots, olives, tomatoes, hard boiled eggs , anchovies and picketed cauliflower. Now I can make the cauliflower myself. Thank you

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