It’s often said “Nothing is ever easy!”.
But in the case of the Great Lakes Pickling Company pouches, easy homemade pickling is SO easy; that if it were any easier, vegetables would just have to grow out of the ground that way.
Yep, life is complicated and challenging enough without adding more “what ifs”, to the list, especially when all you’re really looking for, is a delicious, crisp, pickled vegetable to enjoy.
The beauty of making pickled vegetables in the Great Lakes Picking Pouches is taking all of those aforementioned “what ifs” right off the table.
The only thing you’ll need on your table, is a cutting board and a knife to clean, trim, cut and stuff your pouches with your favorite vegetables.
How does vegetable preservation / pickling work?
Without going into a full-blown science lecture, vegetables are preserved by salt and acids and lack of oxygen, all of which are essential in one form or another.
In the case of some traditional (primitive) methods of preservation, like the old-fashioned sauerkraut, by just adding salt to the cabbage and enough water to cover, the starches and sugars in the vegetables themselves are broken down by “good” bacteria, through fermentation, which creates lactic acid, which in turn, preserves the vegetables.
If you’re looking to preserve your picked vegetables for up to a year, you have to use one of two traditional canning methods, both of which use jars with special lids and the boiling of water or a pressure cooker.
Refrigerated pickles use the same flavorful spices and acidic acid (vinegar) to do immediately, what takes some time through fermentation. You do have a shorter preservation life when using the refrigerator method, but the bonus is that you’ll have an uber crisp, fresh tasting pickled vegetable, just bursting with flavor!
And you don’t even need to look up a recipe on the web. We’ve put the how to right on the pouch. All YOU need to do, is put vegetables, vinegar, and water IN the pouch.
Let’s compare the traditional canning versus refrigerated pickling with pouches:
Traditional Canning
- Vegetables
- All your seasonings
- Vinegar
- Water
- Canning jars with 2-part lids
- A big stock pot or pressure cooker.
- A rack to place at the bottom of the pot so the jar bottoms don’t get too hot from the direct bottom heat
- Canning tongs to lift the jars of scalding hot water out of the stock pot after sterilizing them.
- A wide mouth funnel to add the boiling hot brine to the jars without spilling all over your counter.
- A bubble tool to release any trapped air in the jars before placing the special lids on.
- A magnetic lid lifter (optional), for grabbing those lids you’re also sterilizing in the hot water.
- Lots of counter and storage space.
- Keep the pets and kids at a safe distance.
Great Lakes Pickling Company Pouches
- Vegetables
- A Pickling Pouch (with our pouches, you get the right amount of seasonings already measured and in the pouch)
- Vinegar
- Water
- Welcome your kids to help! And if the cat jumps up on the counter, no worries.
We weren’t keeping track, but I think you can easily see that pickling with the Great Lakes Pickling Company pouches is one of the most satisfying and easiest few minutes you’ll spend in your kitchen all year.
Coming Soon:
- We’ll share even more great tips and ideas for all of our devoted picklers.
- Vegetable trimming and cut shapes, tips for pickling out the best produce in your local markets and, as always, more great recipes for your amazing pickles.
