August 12, 2025 • 37 mins
"At the end of this little tiny workshop, I hope everybody just comes away with the fact that they know they can do whatever they want with anything they want." —Sam Paone
Got more summer veggies than you know what to do with? Instead of letting them go to waste, why not turn them into delicious pickles that capture the season's flavors? Pickling is a fun and easy way to preserve your garden's bounty, ensuring you enjoy those fresh tastes long after summer fades.
Sam Paone, the mastermind behind Golden State Pickle Works, knows a thing or two about turning fresh produce into mouthwatering pickles. With her extensive experience and passion for preservation, Sam shares her tips and tricks for making pickling a breeze. Her insights will inspire you to see your garden's abundance in a whole new light.
Dive into this episode with Justine and Sam and discover how to pickle your way through summer's harvest— from sanitizing jars to crafting the perfect brine. You'll learn practical techniques, creative flavor combinations, and tips for both fermented and vinegar pickles. Tune in and start your pickling journey today—your taste buds will thank you!
Meet Sam:
Sam Paone is the founder of Golden State Pickle Works, a California-based artisan fermentation company. With a background in restaurant cooking, she transitioned to entrepreneurship, creating organic, hyper-seasonal pickled vegetables, condiments, and salad dressings. Sam is passionate about preserving local produce, supporting organic farmers, and introducing innovative fermented food products. She has developed a unique line of pickles and fermented goods that celebrate seasonal ingredients, and is currently working on a preservation-focused television series. Her culinary approach emphasizes flavor, sustainability, and community connection.
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Episode Highlights:
01:31 Sanitizing and Preparing Jars
04:56 Fermented Pickle Preparation
08:53 Making the Brine
13:23 Adding Surface Protector and Finalizing the Jar
18:42 Vinegar Pickle Preparation
33:37 Pouring the Pickling Liquid
36:42 Have Fun Pickling!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Justine Reichman: (00:00):
Welcome to Essential Ingredients. We have a
(00:14):
special episode today. You mighthave met her before when she was
on not too long ago. So Sam, youmight have remembered her. She's
from Golden State Pickle Works,and we're here with her today to
learn how to do this atourselves at home. So we've
prepared everything well. Byprepare, I mean that we got all
the ingredients. They're not yetprepared, but Sam's gonna help
(00:37):
me prepare them, so that we canmake some great recipes that you
too can follow along, or make onyour own at a later time, and
have to keep and store in yourhouse for weeks to come. So
Here's Sam. Meet Sam. We'regonna give it over to you, Sam,
so you can direct thisinitiative.
Sam Paone: (00:58):
Awesome. Well, thank you for having me again. I'm
super excited to make somepickles with you, and I always
really love teaching people howto make pickles for the first
time. I'm excited. Gotta tellyou, by the way, my favorite
pickles are cucumber pickles.They're more crispy. Do you know
what I'm talking about? They'renot quite as yellow or green. So
(01:18):
we're going to do those stylestoday too.
Justine Reichman: (01:21):
That's my favorite. I'm very excited.
Sam Paone: (01:24):
Well, first things first. We have to make sure that
we have a really clean,sanitized area using a brand new
chopping board, a new knifethat's just been cleaned. And we
do need to sanitize our jars.First and foremost, jars and
lids, and the ring thattightens. What we're going to do
is make a food safe sanitationsolution with your bleach that
(01:49):
is about a one quarter of ateaspoon to a quart of water. So
in a larger glass, go ahead andfill that up with water, and
then add about a quarter of ateaspoon of that bleach to it.
Justine Reichman: (02:04):
We have my brand new measuring tools.
Sam Paone: (02:08):
Okay, great, great. So we put an 8th of a teaspoon
of that bleach into the two cupsof water thatou're going to pour
in that water.
Justine Reichman: (02:23):
Okay, so we're putting in this bleach,
and I put in half of the quarterteaspoon.
Sam Paone: (02:32):
Which would be an 8th. Good job.
Justine Reichman: (02:34):
My math is good to two cups of water.
Sam Paone: (02:39):
What we're really essentially doing is we're
trying to kill any bacteriasthat really are on there right
now, but not trying to overdo itwith the bleach. And anything
we're doing, as far as dilutingit, is really helpful this way.
So after you mix up that littlebleach in the little bit of
water, that's our sanitizingsolution. What you're going to
(03:00):
want to do is grab a papertowel, get that wet, and wring
it out. So it's slightly on thedrier side, but completely
moistened with that bleachwater. Just run that paper towel
on the inside surface of thatjar and the lid, and the ring
that the lid connects to. Do thesame thing with the inside of
(03:25):
that jar and your other jar aswell. Might as well do both.
Justine Reichman: (03:35):
Though I'm tuning in to watch this, it has
been quite a journey to gethere, necessarily. Today, July
20, 31st or whatever. Butgetting to the point where we
had all these things and we wereprepared, or we put them all
together. It's my fault. I was alittle disorder.
Sam Paone: (03:53):
People often think of pickling as old fashioned or
intimidating. But really, it'sreally one of the most
accessible and low tech ways topreserve food. It also helps
reduce waste, and support guthealth. You really don't need
any fancy tools. Just a jar andeverything that's around you
right now, and some salt andthyme. So ingredients are the
(04:15):
real main thing that we neededto gather. And now, we're gonna
sanitize the outside of our jarsbefore we set them aside at the
end of our day. Set aside thatin your sink so that you don't
knock it over. Now, we're gonnado a fermented pickle first. We
(04:39):
have to wait to air dry our jarsright there because we don't
want any residual sanitizer inthere. But we also don't want to
take a towel, because any fibersthat will drag inside of that
will kind of just dilute thatfermentation, and not be so
clean to begin with. So whilethe air dries out, let's take
(05:01):
out our ingredients for thisspecific product. We're going to
do those pickling cucumbers.Hold up a cucumber and the jar,
and let's see what we've got.Can they stand up straight up in
there?
Justine Reichman: (05:16):
They can. I can just take off this little
stem thing.
Sam Paone: (05:20):
and
That's exactly what we're going to do. That's how
we're going to prep thoseveggies. Earlier when we were
going back and forth about howto prepare the veggies, it
really depends on the vesselwe're fermenting in, because we
want to make as much use as thespace that we have in there, but
(05:41):
still have enough space for thebrine to surround it. So in this
case, holding up that cucumbercompared to the jar, we do know
that we can trim up the top andbottoms, and we can just stand
them straight up. So go aheadand do about four of those
cucumbers, because we also haveone or two green tomatoes to add
(06:04):
to that. We're not putting themin yet. We're just preparing
them. So we're going to trim thebottoms and the top off of that
cucumber to make sure they canstand up straight up. Let us
wedge that green tomato in sixesor eights. I'm saying sixes or
eights because I am keeping inmind that you like half sour
(06:27):
cucumbers, which are about afive day ferment. And within the
five days, I want that greentomato to also be fermented.
Now, the unripe green tomato,part of this is going to stay
firmer than the cucumberthemselves. Believe it or not,
this is the coolest part abouthaving unripe green tomatoes.
(06:49):
They're just so firm, but fullof umami that it really lends a
beautiful flavor. Let's do oneone tomato, and we have some
garlic, we've got dill. I wouldsay four. But that's just
because I really love garlic. Doyou love garlic?
(07:30):
of that Mexican as well.
Justine Reichman: (08:30):
Okay, I like of that. We're being flexible in
our recipes here as we learn.
Sam Paone: (08:37):
We're improvising. This particular step is very
individualistic. It canliterally be anything you want.
It's the next step that's reallythe step that is important to
understand.
Justine Reichman: (08:50):
The stuff that makes it happen.
Sam Paone: (08:52):
Yes. So as you're prepping your vegetables, those
jars are now completely airdried. In one of those jars,
make a salt brine. I'd say, apound of your vegetables, and
we'll probably use, would youmind checking out that top
(09:16):
number on the jar just to seehow big it is? How many ounces
it holds?
Justine Reichman: (09:24):
I think it's 32 ounces.
Sam Paone: (09:28):
Which means we're probably going to just make
about more brine than we need.Just simplistic sake. And you
can easily use this brine, andkeep it for your next ferment.
So go ahead and take yourteaspoon measure, and a little
bit of salt. So fermentationworks anywhere between a two and
(09:54):
5% salinity. I like to gostraight in the middle. Let's do
one tablespoon for that onewhole quart of water that we're
going to dissolve.
Justine Reichman: (10:05):
Sea salt, by the way.
Sam Paone: (10:09):
That's nice. A lot of people like sea salt. It's
got those minerals and extragoodies that everybody loves. I
personally would use that aswell if I was at home. But
because I own a business,everything has to be quite
straightforward. And by thebook, I used kosher salt.
Justine Reichman: (10:26):
What's the difference in taste?
Sam Paone: (10:27):
Your salt is a little more flavorful. Again, it
has a lot more minerals. Butreally, what your one big
mistake that beginners do makeis that they either don't use
enough salt, or they use thewrong kind. So you'll want to
stick with either Kosher salt orsea salt, as long as it's not
iodized. And at this point,we're always going to dissolve
it in water. So go ahead and putthat tablespoon into your jar.
Justine Reichman: (10:58):
So should I just put a little extra in? Can
you put too much salt in?
Sam Paone: (11:04):
You can. You'll know immediately by not being able to
eat the pickles. Also, if youput way too much salt, it'll
just take a really long time toferment.
Justine Reichman: (11:15):
Should I fill this with some filtered water
now?
Sam Paone: (11:18):
Go ahead and fill it up to that 32 ounce mark.
Justine Reichman: (11:21):
I have a filtering system, and a little
dial, and it goes from hot. Redis hot, white is fizzy, blue is
flat. For about a second, it wason the fizzy. Is that going to
be a problem?
Sam Paone: (11:35):
No, that's just carbon. Next step is closing
that lid, put the flat top onthere, put that ring around
there, get it tight, and startshaking. What you're going to do
(11:57):
is you're really going to tryand dissolve that salt. This is
the most important part. Becauseotherwise, you just get salted
water, and it's the salty waterthat creates a brine through
fermentation, and turns thevegetable into a pickle. So once
you see all of your saltdissolved, let me know. All
(12:18):
right, take your empty jar, andput your prepped vegetables in
the jar. I would start off withyour cucumbers since it is the
longest, and you'll want to keepthem standing up. And then wedge
in your tomatoes and garlic.
Justine Reichman: (12:37):
Maybe I could wedge them in down below, not in
the center. Are you going to adda little chili flake?
Sam Paone: (12:45):
I would say for that amount, if you don't want them
super spicy, I would say onehalf teaspoon of the chili flake
is plenty. A pinch, a two fingerpinch. We're talking grandma
style now. So do you see howmuch you're wedging those in? Is
(13:06):
it too hard?
Justine Reichman: (13:08):
No, I think we're good. I think there's just
more room below.
Sam Paone: (13:19):
You can also cut that cucumber in half just to
make it shorter.
Justine Reichman: (13:23):
All right, I'll do that. Oh, wait, I didn't
put the garlics in yet.
Sam Paone: (13:28):
Also, keep room for the dill. Would you cut those
cucumbers so that they are belowthe waistline of that lid rather
than completely on top?
Justine Reichman: (13:43):
I'm getting creative here. I hope we have
flexibility.
Sam Paone: (13:50):
tThere are two ways to think of this. Some people
like to cut them into spears.Now, just keep in mind, what
keeps a cucumber crispy throughfermentation is that really
nice, snappy skin. So if you'reexposing the centers, we now
(14:12):
don't have the skin to protect--
Justine Reichman: (14:13):
I'm not going to do that with all of them,
just this one because I thinkthen I'll be able to taste the
difference. I can have anexperience. And it fits better.
I'm just not sure about thisone.
Sam Paone: (14:30):
We want to keep room for a little brine to flow.
Justine Reichman: (14:39):
Okay, I'm gonna put a little chili in
here. Boom.
Sam Paone: (14:44):
Nice. And your garlic is in there already. Now,
your last thing is your dill.
Justine Reichman: (14:49):
Okay, my dill is right here. How much dill?
Sam Paone: (14:52):
Now, for all of that, I would probably say half
of a traditional bunch thatyou'd see at any grocery store.
I really love about dill fromthe garden is all that stem that
you also trimmed off, you cansave those beautiful fronds for
the soup and that yogurt dipthat you're gonna make later on.
(15:16):
It has the most best flavor.Now, shove that right on in, and
all we're going to do is coverwith the brine that you just
made, and pour it right intoyour jar. Is there a way you can
kind of fold that dill rightinto the brine? Now, before we
(15:38):
cover that with the jar lid, wewant to add a little surface
protector, and you're alreadydoing that with the dill. So
through fermentation, bacteriastarts to grow. That bacteria
produces a lactic acid, and thatacid is what changes the
vegetable into a pickle. Whilethat happens, oxygen produces
(16:02):
the bacteria, so we need toprohibit a lot of that mold
growth by just not exposing thevegetables to the oxygen.
Another way to do that is tohave some surface right on top
of that brine. So go ahead andplace that inside, shove it
inside. So this is protectingthat brine from the oxygen, and
(16:25):
will prohibit - keep it inside.Make it nicely protecting that
surface there, perfect. Now, wecan put that lid on there, and
take the ring, but don't closeit completely. Just close it
(16:47):
slightly. Okay, perfect. Now,what you're doing is you're
creating enough flow for theoxygen to come in and out.
Because inside of that jar isgoing to start to become alive,
and it will produce the gas, andit will want to breathe. You'll
see that it kind of expand andchange colors, and produce
little bubbles. And that's theCO2 happening, because it's
(17:11):
becoming alive. Also, whatyou're enjoying doing next is
you're going to set that on yourcounter for about four days. And
again, within that time, thebacteria starts to turn that
into a pickle. I would say afterday four, you should start
tasting that speared piece thatyou have in there, if you like
the flavor that it's going in,then either keep going or stop
(17:33):
it by putting in therefrigerator. Once you like the
texture is, it's ready for youto eat year round. Just leave it
in your fridge completely tight,and it should last forever. It
won't go bad. But a best buytime period to keep those crispy
pickles will probably be aboutin the six to eight month range.
Justine Reichman: (17:52):
Perfect. That's great to know. Wow, it's
got a long life. Always makeextra. If you don't know how
much to make, if you're doing itfor friends coming over, or for
the weekend, or a barbecue, youcan always make extra because
you can throw it to the fridge.
Sam Paone: (18:06):
Exactly. And you did make extra brine. So anytime you
have any leftovers, trim for anyof your food that you have. The
half of a carrot spoken for,just stick it on in there. One
little note about this becauseit becomes alive and probiotic,
it will tend to expand. Inoticed that we had so many
(18:26):
vegetables in there that thebrine might expand outside of
the jar, so you might want toplace that on a plate, just as
the overflow of the brine doescome out. And every day, take
that, and press your fingersright into that just to make
sure it stays underneath thatwater level that'll ensure it to
keep from molding. There are twotypes of pickling. There's
(18:54):
vinegar pickling, which is thequick and easy one. And the
fermented pickles, which are theslower and probiotic rich ones
that we just did. I do recommendbeginners to always try both to
see how it fits their taste andthe rhythm. So next, we're going
to do a vinegar pickle.
Justine Reichman: (19:09):
I can't wait. What do I do with this?
Sam Paone: (19:11):
You're gonna save that for another time. We need a
whole other jar. We're gonna usethat jar. You're gonna either
get rid of that somehow.
Justine Reichman: (19:23):
Yes, done. We're ready.
Sam Paone: (19:26):
All right. Now, clean up your area there. Let's
get rid of the dill.
Justine Reichman: (19:30):
I'm getting rid of the dill, the cucumbers.
Do I want the garlic still?
Sam Paone: (19:35):
Yeah, unless you would have put another cucumber
inside that pickling liquid.
Justine Reichman: (19:40):
Sure. Why not? Okay, I kept the cucumber.
I'm getting rid of the dill.
Sam Paone: (19:46):
All right. Now, we are making our vinegar pickling
liquid for our sweeter stylepickle. Now, a lot of people
have a lot of different recipesfor American sweeter style
pickles. I tend to think thatthey're always way too sweet, so
I always cut my sugars in half.I also love ratios. I can make a
(20:12):
recipe small or as large as Iwant, as long as I know the
ratio. And the ratio for avinegar style pickle is a 4, 2,
1. 4parts vinegar, two partswater, one part seasoning,
sugar, everything else. So let'sdo a recipe. In your one quart
(20:32):
jar, we're probably going toneed half of a quart of pickling
liquid to cover the veggies.That means it is a total of two
cups, so half of a cup ofvinegar, quarter cup of water,
quarter cup of everything else.That's fine. So I love doing
combination of vinegars. With atotal of a half a cup of
(20:53):
vinegar, either you could do onequarter and a quarter, which is
what I would do just to keep itsimple, and then a half a cup of
water. And this all goes intoyour pot to simmer.
Justine Reichman: (21:03):
Okay, so I'm going to start with the apple
cider vinegar. I'm going to do aquarter of a cup of that,
correct? Once I'm done withthat, then I'll go to the--
Sam Paone: (21:16):
You're going to be so annoyed with me, I'm doing my
math right now. I think you'regonna need more water. Can you
please do one more quarter cupof vinegar and half of a quarter
cup? So another 8th cup ofwater.
Justine Reichman: (21:30):
Which vinegar?
Sam Paone: (21:30):
Whatever you want, apple cider is perfect. So we're
gonna do a quarter cup justbecause I think we have a few
more vegetables than I remember.
Justine Reichman: (21:39):
And then how much more water?
Sam Paone: (21:40):
Another quarter cup of water, an 8th of a cup of
water.
Justine Reichman: (21:50):
I could maybe get an eighth of a cup.
Sam Paone: (21:53):
It's just half of that quarter cup mark. It's
literally like the size of yourpalm. Now, it is a quarter cup
of everything else. So go aheadand place that on your cutting
board, and start to fill it upwith your seasonings. First,
(22:16):
we're gonna do about an eighthof a cup of sugar.
Justine Reichman: (22:20):
Eighth of a cup of sugar. Okay, holy, grab a
spoon.
Sam Paone: (22:25):
And then just put it inside of that quarter cup
measure so that we can justtotal the measuring cup.
Justine Reichman: (22:32):
Okay, so it's gonna be, I think it's like a
tablespoon.
Sam Paone: (22:36):
That looks great. Yeah, it looks like two
tablespoons ish,. Did you put itinside of the quarter cup
measure?
Justine Reichman: (22:45):
No, I put it in the pot.
Sam Paone: (22:50):
Gotcha. Awesome. Awesome. All right, now let's
put in about two tablespoons ofsalt in the pot, not in the
measuring cup. And then we'regonna figure out what spices to
put in there.
Justine Reichman: (23:10):
This is not an efficient way for me to do
salt.
Sam Paone: (23:12):
Salt is your preservative and flavor carrier.
So one other thing that peoplealways do is it does seem like a
lot of salt, but we have to keepin mind that a lot of it is the
pickling liquid that we'reinfusing with the veggies, so
we're not eating all the saltthat we're putting in there.
Justine Reichman: (23:29):
Why not afraid of salt? I like salt. My
shaker is inefficient. Notefficient way to get salt in the
spoon.
Sam Paone: (23:43):
I honestly think that what you put in before was
enough. Really, it just lookslike a lot. I don't know how
much is coming out of yourshaker though, too. Now, we've
got some black peppercorns. Wehave mustard seed.
Justine Reichman: (24:02):
How much coriander seed are we doing?
Sam Paone: (24:05):
I would say a few, no way smaller than that. I
would say about a tablespoon atthe most, same along with all of
your other spices that you'vegot.
Justine Reichman: (24:23):
I like this, it's gonna be pretty.
Sam Paone: (24:26):
Yes, you're making your own pickling spice out of
what you've got at home. Mustardis great. Also classic bay
leaves are classic as well. Anddo you want to keep this spicy,
or a little bit of warmth aswell?
Justine Reichman: (24:43):
We'll just do one warm. How many bay leaves?
Sam Paone: (24:49):
I'd say one, if not half. Now, bring that up to
simmer. Put that on low heatwhile we prep our veggie. Now,
(25:13):
we're going to want to take alook at all of your veggies. And
again, determine with the sizeof the jar that we have, how
we're going to prepare them. Ifeel like those carrots might
like to be cut in half,especially because they're
really dense. Maybe slice themlong ways. Now, this kind of
(25:34):
pickling happens when you pourhot liquid over fresh veggies,
essentially cooking thevegetables with that hot vinegar
liquid.
Justine Reichman: (25:52):
Sso can I cut the top of the veggie?
Sam Paone: (25:54):
Yeah, yeah. And then cut it lengthwise. At least in
half, if not in orders.
Justine Reichman: (26:00):
I'm going to cut it in half too. Is that
okay?
Sam Paone: (26:06):
By the end of this little tiny workshop, I hope
everybody just comes away withthe fact that they know they can
do whatever they want withanything they want. I think
we've shown them that.
Justine Reichman: (26:17):
Okay, I'm going to keep them like this. Is
that okay?
Sam Paone: (26:21):
Yeah. Toss them inside of that jar. We also have
a stalk of fennel and a bigshallot behind you that I see.
What else do you have?
Justine Reichman: (26:29):
I do have shallots and a zucchini.
Sam Paone: (26:34):
Awesome. So as far as the zucchini goes, as you
know, the zucchini is way moretender than that carrot. So
depending on the size, weprobably don't need to cut it as
thin as the carrots right now.
Justine Reichman: (26:52):
Should we put the fennel in next? Is this
edible?
Sam Paone: (26:57):
Well, yes. But what you'll want to do is cut it
along the fibers so that it'seasy for you to chomp on. Either
that, or just put a little pieceof that fennel in there for the
spice action to support it toflavored fennel. I do think that
you would love that pickledonion, so go ahead. And at least
(27:18):
put the whole shell in there,either sliced or wedged.
Justine Reichman: (27:21):
I love the fact that we're using shallots
for my garden.
Sam Paone: (27:24):
Yeah, so pretty. And, of course, if you want to
just use this bulb of the onion,that greens that you have there
are definitely not composted.They're going to be used in your
next dish.
Justine Reichman: (27:36):
Oh, great. So should I cut this little tail
off?
Sam Paone: (27:39):
Yep, yep. Cut the tail off, and then cut the tops
off, and then just slice themthinly so you have rings of the
shallot, and then top that inthe jar.
Justine Reichman: (27:47):
So while I'm cutting this, if you don't have
shallots, what are some otherjust ideas we can give people
for taste and flavor that arereally great for pickling, that
they might not think of.
Sam Paone: (27:58):
Yeah. So what I like to do if we don't have something
like the standard garlic,because the garlic is the
standard part. I just thoughtthat the shallot was a beautiful
addition because it came fromyour garden, and it's in the
same family as the garlic. Sothinking in those terms, an
Allium of some sort would bereally nice. But if you don't
(28:19):
have that, I bet somebody hassome sort of onion or garlic
powder in their pantry that theycould use.
Justine Reichman: (28:26):
And now, I have the zucchini here.
Sam Paone: (28:28):
Now, you get to choose if you want them spears
or coins. Go ahead and go checkyour pickling liquid. How far is
it up? We know that we have acouple more seconds to finalize
our jar, do you have any otherveggies around you that you want
(28:49):
to include?
Justine Reichman: (28:50):
We can always include more carrots and
zucchini. I do have a beet.
Sam Paone: (28:56):
If you want, you now keep in mind that adding the
beet will definitely meld thebeet color.
Justine Reichman: (29:06):
Yeah, let's stick with the carrots. Can I
stick it in like this? So whatI'm learning is there's really
not a wrong way to cut yourveggies. You may decide however
you want to eat it later. Is itin a salad? Is it by itself? So
you want to figure that out foryourself, and you can figure it
(29:27):
out as you play with this.
Sam Paone: (29:28):
Yeah, exactly. Depending on what the jar is
telling you. Now, I do recallthat we left a cucumber ready
for you, too, if you wanted toadd that in there. Go ahead and
get your boiling liquid. If it'snot completely boiling, just go
ahead and put it on high tillit's boiling. Now, bring it on
(29:51):
over to the jar and slowly pourthat hot liquid into your jar. I
don't think there's enoughliquid.
Justine Reichman: (30:06):
We're gonna do a half a cup of apple cider,
and do a half a cup water.
Sam Paone: (30:17):
Another half a cup of white vinegar as well.
Justine Reichman: (30:20):
Okay, okay. And then we gotta get all the
spices in?
Sam Paone: (30:24):
Yeah. But just put random pinches, I think as far
as the salt and the sugar goes,just put a three pinch amount in
there, unless you really like tomeasure. We got your sugar and
(30:48):
your salt in there as well. Justput one tablespoon of salt. And
because the burner is probablyon high, go ahead and either
(31:11):
whisk it a little bit, or use aspoon to just make sure that
sugar doesn't caramelize on thebottom.
Justine Reichman: (31:16):
Okay, we're back. We've stirred, it's on the
stove, and we're just waitingfor that to boil.
Sam Paone: (31:22):
Now, we're gonna just get rid of all the other
stuff that's around, and what wehave is our half filled of
almost pickled vegetables. Inthe meantime, let's sanitize the
outside of the cucumber jar thatI forgot to walk through. So
before, when we had our previousjar, it would be awesome to just
(31:45):
wipe down the outside of thatjar just to make sure that
you're not kind of jump startingbacteria growth. We're going to
do the same thing with thisvinegar jar. And this one's a
little bit more important justbecause it's got sugar in the
brine, and we definitely don'twant any sticky sugar on the
outside of the jar.
Justine Reichman: (32:06):
Perfect. Okay, looks pretty.
Sam Paone: (32:11):
And you're gonna be surprised how delicious that
green tomato is.
Justine Reichman: (32:15):
Just gonna put a few things away, clean up
as we go along.
Sam Paone: (32:21):
So this weekly pickling session that I tell a
lot of my customers, you've gotyour carrots, the aging cabbage,
or even watermelon rinds can allbe pickled. Pickling turns what
could be compost into somethingwith another shelf life that
really just ups the flavor ofanything you're eating, whether
(32:44):
it's your sandwiches or tacos,or even traditional porridge.
Justine Reichman: (32:50):
Yes, I love all those ideas. I think it's
great because we do have so muchwaste. And unless I'm making a
juice, I don't use the rind of awatermelon. But if I am making
the juice, I'll throw thewatermelon, I'll throw the rind
in. So things like that that wedon't think about, and the
truths are all edible. It's justdifferent way to mix it up, and
(33:11):
make something edible, or moretasty.
Sam Paone: (33:14):
There are different ways you can do vinegar
pickling. I've known somegrandmothers who actually don't
bring the pickling liquid up toa complete boil because they
don't want to cook thevegetables. But in our case,
because you've got carrots andfirm vegetables, I think it's a
good reason to boil the wholeliquid. So what happens now is
(33:51):
you're going to wait until we'regoing to keep that completely as
it is. We're not putting the lidon there. Because otherwise,
we're just steaming inside ofthat, and then we're creating
the extra water that can developthe bad bacterias. So now, we're
just waiting until this becomescompletely room temperature
before we put that lid on, claspit on really tight, and it lives
(34:13):
in the refrigerator. Some peoplelike to do the whole canning
method and keeping it out atroom temp until they actually
open it, and that's a completelyadditional process that we're
not even dipping into today.
Justine Reichman: (34:26):
Okay. So for right now, I'm gonna leave it
till it cools down. Once itcools down, I'm gonna put this
on maybe before I go to bed, oreven in an hour and a half, and
then we will have two differentpickles down. Maybe you and I
can meet on like Instagram Live,and we can try them together.
Sam Paone: (34:45):
I'll try mine.
I'll try mine.
Justine Reichman: (34:49):
Okay. I'll meet you back here in how many
days?
Sam Paone: (34:53):
So those vinegar pickles are going to be done by
the time you put in the fridge.So go ahead and taste one,
because they're going to be verydelicious. The vinegar ones are,
because essentially, what we'redoing is just cooking the
vegetables with vinegar. And bythe time it's room temperature
or cold, it's pickled.
Justine Reichman: (35:10):
So how about we meet back Monday or Tuesday
next week? We hop on Instagram,and we try our pickles. We talk
about how they taste. That's somuch fun, right? All the
different ways, we compare them.And then in the meantime, we
will let them pickle.
Sam Paone: (35:31):
Let them do their thing. But what's really going
to be cool is watching the dailyprocess of those fermented
cucumbers and green tomatoesthat's going to visually change
from cloudy and bubbly, to awhole different color for the
vegetables.
Justine Reichman: (35:46):
Awesome. Thank you, Sam, so much fun. I
apologize, I was not prepared.
Sam Paone: (35:55):
I always love walking people through. And this
time, it was the first time onZoom where I couldn't physically
just do it and show you. So itwas fun to just be able to, you
know, you got to do it. Go, goget that.
Justine Reichman: (36:08):
I ran out, I got it, I came back, and we're
good. And those green tomatoesand the pickles just look
beautiful. I can't wait. Okay,Sam, we will talk soon. I want
to thank our guests for tuningin today. Our listeners, this
was a unique opportunity to workwith a chef and somebody that
(36:29):
makes her own products walk usthrough this process to make it
accessible to you in your ownhome, to help you to be creative
with foods that you don't eatbefore they go rotten, or just
to create another healthy, freshsnack.
Sam Paone: (36:43):
I hope everybody understands how fun and very low
key pickling can be.
Justine Reichman: (36:49):
Very low key, very low maintenance. If you're
not following us on our podcastbecause you're watching this on
the video cast, don't forgetthat you can find us wherever
you listen to your podcast atEssential Ingredients. We'll see
you again next week.
Welcome to Essential Ingredients. We have a
(00:14):
special episode today. You mighthave met her before when she was
on not too long ago. So Sam, youmight have remembered her. She's
from Golden State Pickle Works,and we're here with her today to
learn how to do this atourselves at home. So we've
prepared everything well. Byprepare, I mean that we got all
the ingredients. They're not yetprepared, but Sam's gonna help
(00:37):
me prepare them, so that we canmake some great recipes that you
too can follow along, or make onyour own at a later time, and
have to keep and store in yourhouse for weeks to come. So
Here's Sam. Meet Sam. We'regonna give it over to you, Sam,
so you can direct thisinitiative.
Sam Paone: (00:58):
Awesome. Well, thank you for having me again. I'm
super excited to make somepickles with you, and I always
really love teaching people howto make pickles for the first
time. I'm excited. Gotta tellyou, by the way, my favorite
pickles are cucumber pickles.They're more crispy. Do you know
what I'm talking about? They'renot quite as yellow or green. So
(01:18):
we're going to do those stylestoday too.
Justine Reichman: (01:21):
That's my favorite. I'm very excited.
Sam Paone: (01:24):
Well, first things first. We have to make sure that
we have a really clean,sanitized area using a brand new
chopping board, a new knifethat's just been cleaned. And we
do need to sanitize our jars.First and foremost, jars and
lids, and the ring thattightens. What we're going to do
is make a food safe sanitationsolution with your bleach that
(01:49):
is about a one quarter of ateaspoon to a quart of water. So
in a larger glass, go ahead andfill that up with water, and
then add about a quarter of ateaspoon of that bleach to it.
Justine Reichman: (02:04):
We have my brand new measuring tools.
Sam Paone: (02:08):
Okay, great, great. So we put an 8th of a teaspoon
of that bleach into the two cupsof water thatou're going to pour
in that water.
Justine Reichman: (02:23):
Okay, so we're putting in this bleach,
and I put in half of the quarterteaspoon.
Sam Paone: (02:32):
Which would be an 8th. Good job.
Justine Reichman: (02:34):
My math is good to two cups of water.
Sam Paone: (02:39):
What we're really essentially doing is we're
trying to kill any bacteriasthat really are on there right
now, but not trying to overdo itwith the bleach. And anything
we're doing, as far as dilutingit, is really helpful this way.
So after you mix up that littlebleach in the little bit of
water, that's our sanitizingsolution. What you're going to
(03:00):
want to do is grab a papertowel, get that wet, and wring
it out. So it's slightly on thedrier side, but completely
moistened with that bleachwater. Just run that paper towel
on the inside surface of thatjar and the lid, and the ring
that the lid connects to. Do thesame thing with the inside of
(03:25):
that jar and your other jar aswell. Might as well do both.
Justine Reichman: (03:35):
Though I'm tuning in to watch this, it has
been quite a journey to gethere, necessarily. Today, July
20, 31st or whatever. Butgetting to the point where we
had all these things and we wereprepared, or we put them all
together. It's my fault. I was alittle disorder.
Sam Paone: (03:53):
People often think of pickling as old fashioned or
intimidating. But really, it'sreally one of the most
accessible and low tech ways topreserve food. It also helps
reduce waste, and support guthealth. You really don't need
any fancy tools. Just a jar andeverything that's around you
right now, and some salt andthyme. So ingredients are the
(04:15):
real main thing that we neededto gather. And now, we're gonna
sanitize the outside of our jarsbefore we set them aside at the
end of our day. Set aside thatin your sink so that you don't
knock it over. Now, we're gonnado a fermented pickle first. We
(04:39):
have to wait to air dry our jarsright there because we don't
want any residual sanitizer inthere. But we also don't want to
take a towel, because any fibersthat will drag inside of that
will kind of just dilute thatfermentation, and not be so
clean to begin with. So whilethe air dries out, let's take
(05:01):
out our ingredients for thisspecific product. We're going to
do those pickling cucumbers.Hold up a cucumber and the jar,
and let's see what we've got.Can they stand up straight up in
there?
Justine Reichman: (05:16):
They can. I can just take off this little
stem thing.
Sam Paone: (05:20):
and
That's exactly what we're going to do. That's how
we're going to prep thoseveggies. Earlier when we were
going back and forth about howto prepare the veggies, it
really depends on the vesselwe're fermenting in, because we
want to make as much use as thespace that we have in there, but
(05:41):
still have enough space for thebrine to surround it. So in this
case, holding up that cucumbercompared to the jar, we do know
that we can trim up the top andbottoms, and we can just stand
them straight up. So go aheadand do about four of those
cucumbers, because we also haveone or two green tomatoes to add
(06:04):
to that. We're not putting themin yet. We're just preparing
them. So we're going to trim thebottoms and the top off of that
cucumber to make sure they canstand up straight up. Let us
wedge that green tomato in sixesor eights. I'm saying sixes or
eights because I am keeping inmind that you like half sour
(06:27):
cucumbers, which are about afive day ferment. And within the
five days, I want that greentomato to also be fermented.
Now, the unripe green tomato,part of this is going to stay
firmer than the cucumberthemselves. Believe it or not,
this is the coolest part abouthaving unripe green tomatoes.
(06:49):
They're just so firm, but fullof umami that it really lends a
beautiful flavor. Let's do oneone tomato, and we have some
garlic, we've got dill. I wouldsay four. But that's just
because I really love garlic. Doyou love garlic?
(07:30):
of that Mexican as well.
Justine Reichman: (08:30):
Okay, I like of that. We're being flexible in
our recipes here as we learn.
Sam Paone: (08:37):
We're improvising. This particular step is very
individualistic. It canliterally be anything you want.
It's the next step that's reallythe step that is important to
understand.
Justine Reichman: (08:50):
The stuff that makes it happen.
Sam Paone: (08:52):
Yes. So as you're prepping your vegetables, those
jars are now completely airdried. In one of those jars,
make a salt brine. I'd say, apound of your vegetables, and
we'll probably use, would youmind checking out that top
(09:16):
number on the jar just to seehow big it is? How many ounces
it holds?
Justine Reichman: (09:24):
I think it's 32 ounces.
Sam Paone: (09:28):
Which means we're probably going to just make
about more brine than we need.Just simplistic sake. And you
can easily use this brine, andkeep it for your next ferment.
So go ahead and take yourteaspoon measure, and a little
bit of salt. So fermentationworks anywhere between a two and
(09:54):
5% salinity. I like to gostraight in the middle. Let's do
one tablespoon for that onewhole quart of water that we're
going to dissolve.
Justine Reichman: (10:05):
Sea salt, by the way.
Sam Paone: (10:09):
That's nice. A lot of people like sea salt. It's
got those minerals and extragoodies that everybody loves. I
personally would use that aswell if I was at home. But
because I own a business,everything has to be quite
straightforward. And by thebook, I used kosher salt.
Justine Reichman: (10:26):
What's the difference in taste?
Sam Paone: (10:27):
Your salt is a little more flavorful. Again, it
has a lot more minerals. Butreally, what your one big
mistake that beginners do makeis that they either don't use
enough salt, or they use thewrong kind. So you'll want to
stick with either Kosher salt orsea salt, as long as it's not
iodized. And at this point,we're always going to dissolve
it in water. So go ahead and putthat tablespoon into your jar.
Justine Reichman: (10:58):
So should I just put a little extra in? Can
you put too much salt in?
Sam Paone: (11:04):
You can. You'll know immediately by not being able to
eat the pickles. Also, if youput way too much salt, it'll
just take a really long time toferment.
Justine Reichman: (11:15):
Should I fill this with some filtered water
now?
Sam Paone: (11:18):
Go ahead and fill it up to that 32 ounce mark.
Justine Reichman: (11:21):
I have a filtering system, and a little
dial, and it goes from hot. Redis hot, white is fizzy, blue is
flat. For about a second, it wason the fizzy. Is that going to
be a problem?
Sam Paone: (11:35):
No, that's just carbon. Next step is closing
that lid, put the flat top onthere, put that ring around
there, get it tight, and startshaking. What you're going to do
(11:57):
is you're really going to tryand dissolve that salt. This is
the most important part. Becauseotherwise, you just get salted
water, and it's the salty waterthat creates a brine through
fermentation, and turns thevegetable into a pickle. So once
you see all of your saltdissolved, let me know. All
(12:18):
right, take your empty jar, andput your prepped vegetables in
the jar. I would start off withyour cucumbers since it is the
longest, and you'll want to keepthem standing up. And then wedge
in your tomatoes and garlic.
Justine Reichman: (12:37):
Maybe I could wedge them in down below, not in
the center. Are you going to adda little chili flake?
Sam Paone: (12:45):
I would say for that amount, if you don't want them
super spicy, I would say onehalf teaspoon of the chili flake
is plenty. A pinch, a two fingerpinch. We're talking grandma
style now. So do you see howmuch you're wedging those in? Is
(13:06):
it too hard?
Justine Reichman: (13:08):
No, I think we're good. I think there's just
more room below.
Sam Paone: (13:19):
You can also cut that cucumber in half just to
make it shorter.
Justine Reichman: (13:23):
All right, I'll do that. Oh, wait, I didn't
put the garlics in yet.
Sam Paone: (13:28):
Also, keep room for the dill. Would you cut those
cucumbers so that they are belowthe waistline of that lid rather
than completely on top?
Justine Reichman: (13:43):
I'm getting creative here. I hope we have
flexibility.
Sam Paone: (13:50):
tThere are two ways to think of this. Some people
like to cut them into spears.Now, just keep in mind, what
keeps a cucumber crispy throughfermentation is that really
nice, snappy skin. So if you'reexposing the centers, we now
(14:12):
don't have the skin to protect--
Justine Reichman: (14:13):
I'm not going to do that with all of them,
just this one because I thinkthen I'll be able to taste the
difference. I can have anexperience. And it fits better.
I'm just not sure about thisone.
Sam Paone: (14:30):
We want to keep room for a little brine to flow.
Justine Reichman: (14:39):
Okay, I'm gonna put a little chili in
here. Boom.
Sam Paone: (14:44):
Nice. And your garlic is in there already. Now,
your last thing is your dill.
Justine Reichman: (14:49):
Okay, my dill is right here. How much dill?
Sam Paone: (14:52):
Now, for all of that, I would probably say half
of a traditional bunch thatyou'd see at any grocery store.
I really love about dill fromthe garden is all that stem that
you also trimmed off, you cansave those beautiful fronds for
the soup and that yogurt dipthat you're gonna make later on.
(15:16):
It has the most best flavor.Now, shove that right on in, and
all we're going to do is coverwith the brine that you just
made, and pour it right intoyour jar. Is there a way you can
kind of fold that dill rightinto the brine? Now, before we
(15:38):
cover that with the jar lid, wewant to add a little surface
protector, and you're alreadydoing that with the dill. So
through fermentation, bacteriastarts to grow. That bacteria
produces a lactic acid, and thatacid is what changes the
vegetable into a pickle. Whilethat happens, oxygen produces
(16:02):
the bacteria, so we need toprohibit a lot of that mold
growth by just not exposing thevegetables to the oxygen.
Another way to do that is tohave some surface right on top
of that brine. So go ahead andplace that inside, shove it
inside. So this is protectingthat brine from the oxygen, and
(16:25):
will prohibit - keep it inside.Make it nicely protecting that
surface there, perfect. Now, wecan put that lid on there, and
take the ring, but don't closeit completely. Just close it
(16:47):
slightly. Okay, perfect. Now,what you're doing is you're
creating enough flow for theoxygen to come in and out.
Because inside of that jar isgoing to start to become alive,
and it will produce the gas, andit will want to breathe. You'll
see that it kind of expand andchange colors, and produce
little bubbles. And that's theCO2 happening, because it's
(17:11):
becoming alive. Also, whatyou're enjoying doing next is
you're going to set that on yourcounter for about four days. And
again, within that time, thebacteria starts to turn that
into a pickle. I would say afterday four, you should start
tasting that speared piece thatyou have in there, if you like
the flavor that it's going in,then either keep going or stop
(17:33):
it by putting in therefrigerator. Once you like the
texture is, it's ready for youto eat year round. Just leave it
in your fridge completely tight,and it should last forever. It
won't go bad. But a best buytime period to keep those crispy
pickles will probably be aboutin the six to eight month range.
Justine Reichman: (17:52):
Perfect. That's great to know. Wow, it's
got a long life. Always makeextra. If you don't know how
much to make, if you're doing itfor friends coming over, or for
the weekend, or a barbecue, youcan always make extra because
you can throw it to the fridge.
Sam Paone: (18:06):
Exactly. And you did make extra brine. So anytime you
have any leftovers, trim for anyof your food that you have. The
half of a carrot spoken for,just stick it on in there. One
little note about this becauseit becomes alive and probiotic,
it will tend to expand. Inoticed that we had so many
(18:26):
vegetables in there that thebrine might expand outside of
the jar, so you might want toplace that on a plate, just as
the overflow of the brine doescome out. And every day, take
that, and press your fingersright into that just to make
sure it stays underneath thatwater level that'll ensure it to
keep from molding. There are twotypes of pickling. There's
(18:54):
vinegar pickling, which is thequick and easy one. And the
fermented pickles, which are theslower and probiotic rich ones
that we just did. I do recommendbeginners to always try both to
see how it fits their taste andthe rhythm. So next, we're going
to do a vinegar pickle.
Justine Reichman: (19:09):
I can't wait. What do I do with this?
Sam Paone: (19:11):
You're gonna save that for another time. We need a
whole other jar. We're gonna usethat jar. You're gonna either
get rid of that somehow.
Justine Reichman: (19:23):
Yes, done. We're ready.
Sam Paone: (19:26):
All right. Now, clean up your area there. Let's
get rid of the dill.
Justine Reichman: (19:30):
I'm getting rid of the dill, the cucumbers.
Do I want the garlic still?
Sam Paone: (19:35):
Yeah, unless you would have put another cucumber
inside that pickling liquid.
Justine Reichman: (19:40):
Sure. Why not? Okay, I kept the cucumber.
I'm getting rid of the dill.
Sam Paone: (19:46):
All right. Now, we are making our vinegar pickling
liquid for our sweeter stylepickle. Now, a lot of people
have a lot of different recipesfor American sweeter style
pickles. I tend to think thatthey're always way too sweet, so
I always cut my sugars in half.I also love ratios. I can make a
(20:12):
recipe small or as large as Iwant, as long as I know the
ratio. And the ratio for avinegar style pickle is a 4, 2,
1. 4parts vinegar, two partswater, one part seasoning,
sugar, everything else. So let'sdo a recipe. In your one quart
(20:32):
jar, we're probably going toneed half of a quart of pickling
liquid to cover the veggies.That means it is a total of two
cups, so half of a cup ofvinegar, quarter cup of water,
quarter cup of everything else.That's fine. So I love doing
combination of vinegars. With atotal of a half a cup of
(20:53):
vinegar, either you could do onequarter and a quarter, which is
what I would do just to keep itsimple, and then a half a cup of
water. And this all goes intoyour pot to simmer.
Justine Reichman: (21:03):
Okay, so I'm going to start with the apple
cider vinegar. I'm going to do aquarter of a cup of that,
correct? Once I'm done withthat, then I'll go to the--
Sam Paone: (21:16):
You're going to be so annoyed with me, I'm doing my
math right now. I think you'regonna need more water. Can you
please do one more quarter cupof vinegar and half of a quarter
cup? So another 8th cup ofwater.
Justine Reichman: (21:30):
Which vinegar?
Sam Paone: (21:30):
Whatever you want, apple cider is perfect. So we're
gonna do a quarter cup justbecause I think we have a few
more vegetables than I remember.
Justine Reichman: (21:39):
And then how much more water?
Sam Paone: (21:40):
Another quarter cup of water, an 8th of a cup of
water.
Justine Reichman: (21:50):
I could maybe get an eighth of a cup.
Sam Paone: (21:53):
It's just half of that quarter cup mark. It's
literally like the size of yourpalm. Now, it is a quarter cup
of everything else. So go aheadand place that on your cutting
board, and start to fill it upwith your seasonings. First,
(22:16):
we're gonna do about an eighthof a cup of sugar.
Justine Reichman: (22:20):
Eighth of a cup of sugar. Okay, holy, grab a
spoon.
Sam Paone: (22:25):
And then just put it inside of that quarter cup
measure so that we can justtotal the measuring cup.
Justine Reichman: (22:32):
Okay, so it's gonna be, I think it's like a
tablespoon.
Sam Paone: (22:36):
That looks great. Yeah, it looks like two
tablespoons ish,. Did you put itinside of the quarter cup
measure?
Justine Reichman: (22:45):
No, I put it in the pot.
Sam Paone: (22:50):
Gotcha. Awesome. Awesome. All right, now let's
put in about two tablespoons ofsalt in the pot, not in the
measuring cup. And then we'regonna figure out what spices to
put in there.
Justine Reichman: (23:10):
This is not an efficient way for me to do
salt.
Sam Paone: (23:12):
Salt is your preservative and flavor carrier.
So one other thing that peoplealways do is it does seem like a
lot of salt, but we have to keepin mind that a lot of it is the
pickling liquid that we'reinfusing with the veggies, so
we're not eating all the saltthat we're putting in there.
Justine Reichman: (23:29):
Why not afraid of salt? I like salt. My
shaker is inefficient. Notefficient way to get salt in the
spoon.
Sam Paone: (23:43):
I honestly think that what you put in before was
enough. Really, it just lookslike a lot. I don't know how
much is coming out of yourshaker though, too. Now, we've
got some black peppercorns. Wehave mustard seed.
Justine Reichman: (24:02):
How much coriander seed are we doing?
Sam Paone: (24:05):
I would say a few, no way smaller than that. I
would say about a tablespoon atthe most, same along with all of
your other spices that you'vegot.
Justine Reichman: (24:23):
I like this, it's gonna be pretty.
Sam Paone: (24:26):
Yes, you're making your own pickling spice out of
what you've got at home. Mustardis great. Also classic bay
leaves are classic as well. Anddo you want to keep this spicy,
or a little bit of warmth aswell?
Justine Reichman: (24:43):
We'll just do one warm. How many bay leaves?
Sam Paone: (24:49):
I'd say one, if not half. Now, bring that up to
simmer. Put that on low heatwhile we prep our veggie. Now,
(25:13):
we're going to want to take alook at all of your veggies. And
again, determine with the sizeof the jar that we have, how
we're going to prepare them. Ifeel like those carrots might
like to be cut in half,especially because they're
really dense. Maybe slice themlong ways. Now, this kind of
(25:34):
pickling happens when you pourhot liquid over fresh veggies,
essentially cooking thevegetables with that hot vinegar
liquid.
Justine Reichman: (25:52):
Sso can I cut the top of the veggie?
Sam Paone: (25:54):
Yeah, yeah. And then cut it lengthwise. At least in
half, if not in orders.
Justine Reichman: (26:00):
I'm going to cut it in half too. Is that
okay?
Sam Paone: (26:06):
By the end of this little tiny workshop, I hope
everybody just comes away withthe fact that they know they can
do whatever they want withanything they want. I think
we've shown them that.
Justine Reichman: (26:17):
Okay, I'm going to keep them like this. Is
that okay?
Sam Paone: (26:21):
Yeah. Toss them inside of that jar. We also have
a stalk of fennel and a bigshallot behind you that I see.
What else do you have?
Justine Reichman: (26:29):
I do have shallots and a zucchini.
Sam Paone: (26:34):
Awesome. So as far as the zucchini goes, as you
know, the zucchini is way moretender than that carrot. So
depending on the size, weprobably don't need to cut it as
thin as the carrots right now.
Justine Reichman: (26:52):
Should we put the fennel in next? Is this
edible?
Sam Paone: (26:57):
Well, yes. But what you'll want to do is cut it
along the fibers so that it'seasy for you to chomp on. Either
that, or just put a little pieceof that fennel in there for the
spice action to support it toflavored fennel. I do think that
you would love that pickledonion, so go ahead. And at least
(27:18):
put the whole shell in there,either sliced or wedged.
Justine Reichman: (27:21):
I love the fact that we're using shallots
for my garden.
Sam Paone: (27:24):
Yeah, so pretty. And, of course, if you want to
just use this bulb of the onion,that greens that you have there
are definitely not composted.They're going to be used in your
next dish.
Justine Reichman: (27:36):
Oh, great. So should I cut this little tail
off?
Sam Paone: (27:39):
Yep, yep. Cut the tail off, and then cut the tops
off, and then just slice themthinly so you have rings of the
shallot, and then top that inthe jar.
Justine Reichman: (27:47):
So while I'm cutting this, if you don't have
shallots, what are some otherjust ideas we can give people
for taste and flavor that arereally great for pickling, that
they might not think of.
Sam Paone: (27:58):
Yeah. So what I like to do if we don't have something
like the standard garlic,because the garlic is the
standard part. I just thoughtthat the shallot was a beautiful
addition because it came fromyour garden, and it's in the
same family as the garlic. Sothinking in those terms, an
Allium of some sort would bereally nice. But if you don't
(28:19):
have that, I bet somebody hassome sort of onion or garlic
powder in their pantry that theycould use.
Justine Reichman: (28:26):
And now, I have the zucchini here.
Sam Paone: (28:28):
Now, you get to choose if you want them spears
or coins. Go ahead and go checkyour pickling liquid. How far is
it up? We know that we have acouple more seconds to finalize
our jar, do you have any otherveggies around you that you want
(28:49):
to include?
Justine Reichman: (28:50):
We can always include more carrots and
zucchini. I do have a beet.
Sam Paone: (28:56):
If you want, you now keep in mind that adding the
beet will definitely meld thebeet color.
Justine Reichman: (29:06):
Yeah, let's stick with the carrots. Can I
stick it in like this? So whatI'm learning is there's really
not a wrong way to cut yourveggies. You may decide however
you want to eat it later. Is itin a salad? Is it by itself? So
you want to figure that out foryourself, and you can figure it
(29:27):
out as you play with this.
Sam Paone: (29:28):
Yeah, exactly. Depending on what the jar is
telling you. Now, I do recallthat we left a cucumber ready
for you, too, if you wanted toadd that in there. Go ahead and
get your boiling liquid. If it'snot completely boiling, just go
ahead and put it on high tillit's boiling. Now, bring it on
(29:51):
over to the jar and slowly pourthat hot liquid into your jar. I
don't think there's enoughliquid.
Justine Reichman: (30:06):
We're gonna do a half a cup of apple cider,
and do a half a cup water.
Sam Paone: (30:17):
Another half a cup of white vinegar as well.
Justine Reichman: (30:20):
Okay, okay. And then we gotta get all the
spices in?
Sam Paone: (30:24):
Yeah. But just put random pinches, I think as far
as the salt and the sugar goes,just put a three pinch amount in
there, unless you really like tomeasure. We got your sugar and
(30:48):
your salt in there as well. Justput one tablespoon of salt. And
because the burner is probablyon high, go ahead and either
(31:11):
whisk it a little bit, or use aspoon to just make sure that
sugar doesn't caramelize on thebottom.
Justine Reichman: (31:16):
Okay, we're back. We've stirred, it's on the
stove, and we're just waitingfor that to boil.
Sam Paone: (31:22):
Now, we're gonna just get rid of all the other
stuff that's around, and what wehave is our half filled of
almost pickled vegetables. Inthe meantime, let's sanitize the
outside of the cucumber jar thatI forgot to walk through. So
before, when we had our previousjar, it would be awesome to just
(31:45):
wipe down the outside of thatjar just to make sure that
you're not kind of jump startingbacteria growth. We're going to
do the same thing with thisvinegar jar. And this one's a
little bit more important justbecause it's got sugar in the
brine, and we definitely don'twant any sticky sugar on the
outside of the jar.
Justine Reichman: (32:06):
Perfect. Okay, looks pretty.
Sam Paone: (32:11):
And you're gonna be surprised how delicious that
green tomato is.
Justine Reichman: (32:15):
Just gonna put a few things away, clean up
as we go along.
Sam Paone: (32:21):
So this weekly pickling session that I tell a
lot of my customers, you've gotyour carrots, the aging cabbage,
or even watermelon rinds can allbe pickled. Pickling turns what
could be compost into somethingwith another shelf life that
really just ups the flavor ofanything you're eating, whether
(32:44):
it's your sandwiches or tacos,or even traditional porridge.
Justine Reichman: (32:50):
Yes, I love all those ideas. I think it's
great because we do have so muchwaste. And unless I'm making a
juice, I don't use the rind of awatermelon. But if I am making
the juice, I'll throw thewatermelon, I'll throw the rind
in. So things like that that wedon't think about, and the
truths are all edible. It's justdifferent way to mix it up, and
(33:11):
make something edible, or moretasty.
Sam Paone: (33:14):
There are different ways you can do vinegar
pickling. I've known somegrandmothers who actually don't
bring the pickling liquid up toa complete boil because they
don't want to cook thevegetables. But in our case,
because you've got carrots andfirm vegetables, I think it's a
good reason to boil the wholeliquid. So what happens now is
(33:51):
you're going to wait until we'regoing to keep that completely as
it is. We're not putting the lidon there. Because otherwise,
we're just steaming inside ofthat, and then we're creating
the extra water that can developthe bad bacterias. So now, we're
just waiting until this becomescompletely room temperature
before we put that lid on, claspit on really tight, and it lives
(34:13):
in the refrigerator. Some peoplelike to do the whole canning
method and keeping it out atroom temp until they actually
open it, and that's a completelyadditional process that we're
not even dipping into today.
Justine Reichman: (34:26):
Okay. So for right now, I'm gonna leave it
till it cools down. Once itcools down, I'm gonna put this
on maybe before I go to bed, oreven in an hour and a half, and
then we will have two differentpickles down. Maybe you and I
can meet on like Instagram Live,and we can try them together.
Sam Paone: (34:45):
I'll try mine.
I'll try mine.
Justine Reichman: (34:49):
Okay. I'll meet you back here in how many
days?
Sam Paone: (34:53):
So those vinegar pickles are going to be done by
the time you put in the fridge.So go ahead and taste one,
because they're going to be verydelicious. The vinegar ones are,
because essentially, what we'redoing is just cooking the
vegetables with vinegar. And bythe time it's room temperature
or cold, it's pickled.
Justine Reichman: (35:10):
So how about we meet back Monday or Tuesday
next week? We hop on Instagram,and we try our pickles. We talk
about how they taste. That's somuch fun, right? All the
different ways, we compare them.And then in the meantime, we
will let them pickle.
Sam Paone: (35:31):
Let them do their thing. But what's really going
to be cool is watching the dailyprocess of those fermented
cucumbers and green tomatoesthat's going to visually change
from cloudy and bubbly, to awhole different color for the
vegetables.
Justine Reichman: (35:46):
Awesome. Thank you, Sam, so much fun. I
apologize, I was not prepared.
Sam Paone: (35:55):
I always love walking people through. And this
time, it was the first time onZoom where I couldn't physically
just do it and show you. So itwas fun to just be able to, you
know, you got to do it. Go, goget that.
Justine Reichman: (36:08):
I ran out, I got it, I came back, and we're
good. And those green tomatoesand the pickles just look
beautiful. I can't wait. Okay,Sam, we will talk soon. I want
to thank our guests for tuningin today. Our listeners, this
was a unique opportunity to workwith a chef and somebody that
(36:29):
makes her own products walk usthrough this process to make it
accessible to you in your ownhome, to help you to be creative
with foods that you don't eatbefore they go rotten, or just
to create another healthy, freshsnack.
Sam Paone: (36:43):
I hope everybody understands how fun and very low
key pickling can be.
Justine Reichman: (36:49):
Very low key, very low maintenance. If you're
not following us on our podcastbecause you're watching this on
the video cast, don't forgetthat you can find us wherever
you listen to your podcast atEssential Ingredients. We'll see
you again next week.
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