C – Luke got me worried that pickling asparagus wouldn’t work.
He said asparagus is a fickle vegetable. They might not be crisp when you pickle them. They might have a weird texture after you pickle them. Well, I needed to try it to believe it. If it works, I will have pickled another vegetable with great success. If it’s a failure, I guess I will have to go back to the drawing board.
The only thing I hate about making pickles is that it takes two weeks or longer to get it done. I really can’t fix it or adjust my experimenting, if I can’t touch the pickles for two weeks. I just have to trust that nature will do it’s thing and make good pickles.
PLEASE let these be good pickles. I don’t want to wait two weeks and have to redo them. That would be horrible.
Finally, the two weeks are up. I almost forgot about them. Will they be any good? Well, to be honest, the asparagus had seen better days. They lost their color a bit. They also look a little strange. There are a few red spots on them. I am not sure why.
Opening the jar, everything smelled normal. It smells like pickle juice to me. Of course, the taste and the texture is the biggest thing. The texture was crunchy. They were a bit hard to break. But, biting into one had a very nice snap.
The taste was delicious. There’s a nice, sweet and salty balance to them. They tasted similar to the bread and butter pickles we made. I really enjoyed them. They are easy to pick up. Really easy for me to take one out of the jar for a snack.
| Asparagus Week: Pickled Asparagus |
- 1 bunch asparagus, woody parts trimmed off
- 1 Tbsp salt
- ½ yellow onion, sliced
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups vinegar
- ½ bunch dill weed, separated in half
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
- ¼ cup salt, add more if needed
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 quart mason jar
- Soak asparagus in some water with 1 tablespoon of salt. Soak for 10 minutes.
- In a clean jar, place garlic cloves and onions on the bottom.
- Stand asparagus stalks in the jar. Top the jar with ½ the dill weed. Set aside.
- In a medium sauce pot, add water and vinegar and bring to a simmer.
- Add sugar, salt, remaining dill to the pot. Simmer until sugar and salt are dissolved.
- Add mustard seeds and red pepper flakes. Let simmer for 5 minutes. Turn off heat and let cool to room temperature.
- Once cooled, discard steeped dill. Then pour everything into the jar. Close lid and place in the refrigerator for two weeks.
- Serve.
- Enjoy!
In summary, I liked them. They were easy to make … besides the two week wait. I would make them again.
They are going to make a great snack. It’s a good way to eat asparagus when the season goes away.