Savor summer's flavors by pickling, preserving

(Pickled Rat's Tail Podding Radish tops off bruschetta with cream cheese, tomato and geranium blossoms)

Although the weather has been searingly hot this week, the garden is still surviving, with many crops coming in strong. Hopefully, we will see some rain in the Northeast this weekend.
Eating vegetables freshly picked and sharing them with friends is one of the pleasures of growing your own. I try to freeze and preserve as much as I can, so that my family can enjoy good clean food throughout the winter. It's not only good for your health, it's economical, too.

Pickling is another way to preserve the harvest. You can make a variety of pickles and chutneys, stash them away and give them as gifts during the holidays. A little taste of something from your kitchen given to a friend is always a welcome surprise.

(Rat's Tail Podding Radish plants produce an abundance of pods perfect for pickling)

Not much seems to affect the Rat’s Tail Podding Radish that is growing like a weed in my garden. I planted these for the first time last season and somehow forgot to plant them again this year. No worry, these hardy plants reseeded themselves and I kept several of the volunteers in the back of the garden, where they took off like a wildfire, much like the tomatillos I will never have to plant again.



I got the seeds from the Hudson Valley Seed Library as part of last year’s art pack seeds. The packaging is so enticing on these seeds, which are grown locally and well adapted to the Hudson Valley. The beautiful paper packets are made locally by Treeo Design in Gardiner, Ulster County, and feature artwork by local artists. The seed library sponsors a contest each year for artists to submit designs for the art packs. That’s the pack, above, created by Ayumi Horie.



The plants are showy and unusual, growing about 4 feet tall and producing 1-6-inch pods streaked with purple, rather than the root crop of regular radishes.



The flowers are pretty, too, in shades of purple to white and can be added to salads or used as garnishes. The pods add a snappy crunch to salads or a stir-fry, and make good pickles, too, which I made this year for the first time. Their snappy personality was definitely enhanced in the brine, making for quite the zesty pickle. I enjoyed them more as a bruschetta topping rather than straight from the jar.

I love pickling fresh garden vegetables. You can pickle just about anything you pick: carrots, zucchini, Brussels sprouts, tomatillos, green beans, beets and, of course, cucumbers.

The August issue of Eating Well features a story on pickling, which inspired me to give these pods a try. This was a quick method of pickling that is stored in the refrigerator. You can also process pickles so that they can be stored at room temperature for up to one year.

(Rat's Tail Podding Radish makes for a snappy pickle)

Basically, I combined equal parts water and white vinegar (this was a small batch, so I used 1 cup of each), 1 tablespoon salt, 1 teaspoon of sugar, ¾ teaspoon pickling spice and a few dried red peppers. I brought the mixture to a boil for about 2 minutes and then poured it over the raw radish pods in a clean, small jar and stored it in the fridge for a couple days and - voila! – quick pickles.

You can mix and match seasonings for either a sour pickle brine, which is what I used for this recipe, or a sweet pickle brine, which calls for more sugar.
I’m looking forward to trying more pickling recipes with the harvest, especially some dilly beans.

If you are interested in learning more about pickling, preserving and freezing and live in the Hudson Valley, there is a free workshop on the topic at Phillies Bridge Farm, which is also in Gardiner. The session is scheduled for Thursday, July 15, at 6:30 p.m. at the farm, which is just off Route 208. Susan Loxley-Friedle, who is a pickling enthusiast who has earned many ribbons at the Rosendale Pickle Festival for her chutneys and pickles, will lead the workshop. Visit the farm’s website for more information.

Preserving what you grow is a wonderful way to keep the flavors of summer with you all year long. Hey, you’ve worked hard to grow what you have, so make the most of the bounty by putting some up. Your friends and family will thank you.