It’s no surprise that Paula has an incredible garden at her home, which she harvests to make delicious dishes. But even the Queen of Southern Cuisine herself can’t always use up all of the fruits and veggies that she grows for fresh garden-to-table recipes. One of her favorite ways to keep those fruits and veggies from going to waste is through pickling!
We love pickling because it’s not just limited to turning cucumbers into dill pickles. Paula will pickle just about anything from carrots and okra to watermelon rind and rhubarb. She’ll even pickle shrimp!
Vinegar is usually the primary ingredient you’ll find in most pickled recipes. It is used as both a preservative and a flavoring agent. Of course, there are many types of vinegars to choose from, but we typically recommend sticking to distilled white vinegar or apple cider vinegar. The apple cider vinegar has a slightly fruity flavor that mixes well with spices while the distilled white vinegar is a little more tart and really allows the spices to be the stars of the show.
Most recipes also call for a little sugar, salt, and water, but the seasonings are where you can really have fun! We season our pickling recipes with citrus zest, cinnamon, garlic, mustard seeds, ginger, peppercorns, dill, or anything else we think sounds tasty. Let your creativity fly, y’all!
If you’re lookin’ for inspiration to create your pickles, try some of our favorites below. If you’re a pro pickler, we’d love to hear your favorite pickling tips and recipes in the comments below!
