recipe request line: spicy pickled carrots

Hey everyone,

A friend facebook requested the spicy pickled carrots recipe I posted to this blog a couple weeks ago. In fact, several people have requested the recipe. What follows is an exact duplicate (minus the greeting and salutation) of the letter I returned:



Hi Spicy Pickled Carrot Requester,

The carrots are really easy. Get yourself a quart mason jar or two pint jars, or whatever, you just need jars that will not shatter when you pour the boiling liquid into them. The jars also need lids. We'll assume you have a quart jar or two pint jars.

Start with good carrots. Clean them and peel them. If they are monsters, cut them into reasonable size carrot sticks. Cut the carrots or carrot sticks so that their length matches the size of the jar, but cut them just a bit shorter than the height of the jar. Meanwhile, bring a pot of unsalted water to a boil. When it is boiling, dump your carrots in and cook them for two minutes. Then drain them and immerse them in cold water until they are cool. When they are cool, pack them into your jar(s).

Part two: in a non-reactive pot, i.e. not aluminum or cast iron, combine the following:

1 cup water
1 cup vinegar (white or white wine vinegar)
1/4 cup sugar
1.5 teaspoons salt
3 garlic cloves chopped
mixed spices, to your discretion

I use coriander seeds, chili flakes, crushed black peppercorns, and celery seed. You can use whatever spices you want, though.

Now, bring this mixture to a boil, making sure to stir it until the salt and sugar dissolve. When it boils, pour the boiling solution over the carrots. Then lid the jar(s) and let it return to room temperature before popping it into the fridge for two or three days. Then eat them.

A couple pointers:

The only thing you need to get right is the ratio of water to vinegar to salt to sugar (though I suspect you could amp or down the salt and sugar). What I'm saying is that if, for some reason, you don't have enough solution, you can make more: just follow the ratio.

For a stronger, spicier solution, don't crank the heat up right away. Instead, simmer the solution on low for a good long while until it starts to take on a darker color.

That's all. Pretty darn easy and really delicious.