Today it is 45 degrees in Dubai. I have no idea what that is in real money as I now think in Centigrade. I do know that the weather boffins measure in the shade though so I am expecting to see 50 on the car thermometer. So in this time of boardgames and other indoor pursuits I have continued to stock up on my pickling and fermentation paraphernalia.
The Church of Lakeland has moved its headquarters in Dubai to the (nearer) Mall of the Emirates, I was delighted to go and spend money to support them in their new home. I came home with some absolute essentials for my continued training for self sufficiency.
Who could live without pickle pebbles and a pickle plunger. I know I can't. The pebbles in particular are very smart.
Excess packaging aside they come almost in an ammunition magazine for serious deployment in your various jars. The theory is that your vegetables are kept from floating above the surface of your brine to prevent mould forming,
In terms of crisp gherkins to spice up a corned beef sandwich or (dreams and sighs) a burger once the temperature for BBQing goes under 35 degrees they are surprisingly easy. You simply make up a brine from a decent salt and some nice water out of the cooler. There are lots of tables online for brine and for gherkins I understand the sweet spot is about 3 % or so - thats 50 g of salt for a litre of water. You are supposed to heat the water and stir but I guess I am a bit lazy for that.
So you simply buy or grow a bunch of small cucumbers and rinse them thoroughly. In terms of flavoring you can add peppercorns, dill, juniper, a small chopped chili - the list is endless. I have started with nothing with this first batch this year so that I can compare to a batch with dill and see wether it makes any difference at all in my ham sandwich. The gherkins should still be crunchy with two weeks at room temperature on a cupboard shelf. They can then go into the fridge and should be polished off in a couple of weeks. This simple pickling technique can be used for any fresh vegetables. Last year I did mixed sandwich pickle (inspired by some pretty jars I had seen at a Vermont farmer's market) using French beans and carrot as well as cucumber, I need to get one of the those cutters that can get a ruffled edge and some gingham lids and pretty jar ribbon. Little House on the Al Barsha Prairie.
Eid Mubarak and happy pickling.
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