Last Saturday at the Springdale Farm farm stand, I discovered that they had grown and harvested gherkins, and I bought them all. These tiny cucumbers, aside from the cute factor, taste delicious, and when pickled, make a perfect complement to a charcuterie plate. So, I bought all three baskets they had, and brought them home.
Once I had sterilized my pint jars, I estimated the pickling mixture needed, and mixed 2 cups white vinegar, 4 tablespoons pickling salt and 2/3 cups water. I put a clove of garlic, a fresh bay leaf, and several whole peppercorns into each jar, as liquid heated on the stove. Next, I packed the jars with the gherkins, as tightly as possible.
As soon as the salt dissolved and the pickling liquid came to a boil, I filled the jars and sealed. I hadn’t pickled anything in a few months, and forgot how everything floats to the top, making it a tad harder to wipe the tops of the jars clean. I got the jars sealed and processed in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. I had forgotten how easy pickling is, relative to canning other things.
Cornichons!
