Pickling spices add flavor to pickled vegetables and meats. Common ingredients include coriander, mustard seeds, cloves, cinnamon, and black pepper. They can also be used in soups, stews, chutneys, and jams. Experimentation is encouraged, and homemade spice blends can make great gifts.
Pickling spices are a blend of spices used to add flavor to meat or vegetables during the pickling process. They are usually wrapped together in cheesecloth or a small bag and cooked with the pickling mixture. Usually, the spices are removed after cooking rather than aged with the pickle.
The ingredients used to make a pickled spice blend vary widely, with many recipes claiming to be traditional or authentic. Most American and British varieties include coriander, mustard seeds, cloves, cinnamon, ginger, bay leaves and black pepper. Indian pickling spices also often use turmeric, cardamom and chilli.
To make a vegetable pickle using pickled spices, boil the vegetables until tender and then drain. Fill the pot with the vinegar, salt and sugar and the pickled spice mixture and boil the vegetables again for 10 to 20 minutes. When cool enough, pour into sterilized jars and seal. Be sure to remove the pickling spice mix before shaking the pickle.
Pickling spices can be used in many other ways, for any recipe that calls for extra spice. To make spiced vinegar or olive oil, add a packet of your favorite mix to the bottle for two to three days and then discard it. Simmer spices with soup or stew; they can add deep flavor to homemade soup, but they can also lift the flavors of canned soup. Use when making chutney or add a sweet version containing cinnamon, cloves, allspice, ginger, cardamom and nutmeg, when cooking fruit for homemade spiced plum jelly or jam.
In most recipes, the spice infusion is long enough to add flavor and depth to the main components, but short enough to enhance, rather than overwhelm, the dish. Pickling spices can be used to bring out subtle flavors in meats such as rabbit and venison. It’s wonderful for stews, as it gives the recipe just enough flavor to match its heart.
You can buy prepackaged marinade spice mixes at most grocery stores, but it can also be fun to make your own. Since the concoction has many uses, you may want to make a large jar to keep on hand at home. For home use, you can throw the spices in any way you like, but you can also carefully put the spices in a clear glass jar and add several pieces of cheesecloth to make the pickled spices a beautiful and useful gift. Keep properly sealed so the spices won’t lose their potency, and consider mashing or lightly toasting the portion needed for immediate use to release the flavors.
Experimentation with pickling spices is definitely encouraged. If you don’t want to create a large amount of spice, you can easily customize small portions of the dish you are preparing. Research what flavors typically come together to get ideas for blends, or watch out for the wind and try what sounds good together. Using pickled spices can be a great way to learn about flavor combinations and can add new layers of flavor to everything from grandma’s pickle recipe to your favorite soup.
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