Pickled Carrots

Inspired by this recipe, I thought I could put the mixed pickling spices to use. I decided to go with carrots since I'd only heard about pickled carrots before. Plus, I had a five pound bag of carrots. :) Since I’ve never pickled anything before, I went ahead and sterilized the containers/lids, but I’m not sure how much impact it has since the containers/lids are exposed to a non-sterile atmosphere afterward. Maybe someone can educate me?

Do the lids/containers really need sterilization or is just cleaning them enough?

Pickled Carrots

by CJ Huang

Easy Refrigerator Bread and Butter-Style Pickled Carrots. Perfect on sandwiches, burgers, and even potato salad!

Materials:

Mass	Weight	Volume	Number	Material	Notes
			6	carrots, sliced into quarters lengthwise and then thirds	or whatever shape you want your pickles to be
		2 cups		sugar
		2 cups		vinegar	I used a mixture of white and blueberry pomegranate red wine vinegar, but you could use different vinegars for different flavors.
		2 tablespoons		onion powder
		2 tablespoons		salt	Not sure what impact iodine has, but the original recipe calls for non-iodized salt and I used iodized.
		2 teaspoons		pickling spice	You could use your own combo of different spices depending on what kind of taste you want.
		2 teaspoons		dijon mustard
			2	bay leaves, crumpled

Methods:

1. (optional) Sterilize containers/lids. Be careful after sterilizing, both will be very hot.
2. Mix all materials except carrots in small pot, bring to a boil until salt/sugar are dissolved, and then simmer until ready to use.
3. Wash and cut carrots. I didn’t use pickling cucumbers this time, but I’d like to try them next time.
4. Put carrots into jars. I stuffed in as many as I could in one layer and then put some on top. They should be pretty tightly packed at this point, and they will shrink a bit as they pickle.
5. Pour pickling solution over the carrots, leaving at least a quarter inch headspace.
6. Seal the containers, and allow to cool before refrigerating. Shake the jars daily to redistribute spices and blend flavors. I tried a spear daily, and for the first week or so, and the pickling does noticeably increase, but it kinda levels off after that.