Spring Cabbage & Juniper Berry Quick Pickle

Serves as many as you like ● Prep Time 5 Mins ● Cooking Time 10 Mins
Juniper is such a great ingredient for flavouring stews and sauces; and it’s great in this pickle, marrying its woody bittersweet flavour marrying beautifully with the sweetness of the pickling brine and the spring cabbage.
method

Spring cabbage

2-3 juniper berries (per small jar)


For the pickling brine

3 parts Aspall Organic Cyder Vinegar 

1 part water  

1 part sugar  

A good pinch of salt. 

This recipe is designed to be flexible so you can make as  many jars as you would like. You can also make a larger batch of pickling brine to use with different vegetables (for example try Fennel & Basil) If you have any brine left over this can be stored and reheated next time you are ready to pickle.

  1. Sterilise your jar/jars by leaving them in an oven for 10 minutes or so at 100ºC, and sterilise the lids with boiling water just before you need them. 
  2. Make the pickling brine by adding the ingredients in to a small saucepan and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved. 
  3. Chop the spring cabbage to roughly £1 coin thickness, and cut to length so it will fit in to the jar of your choice.
  4. Crush the juniper berries using a pestle and mortar.
  5. Place the cabbage in to your jar along with the crushed juniper berries, cover with hot pickling brine and seal.

You can eat this within 6 hours, but we like to leave a couple of days to let the wonderful flavour of the juniper come through. This type of pickle will only keep for 3 - 4 weeks, and as the vinegar has been diluted it needs to be kept in the fridge or it will start to ferment.

ingredients

Spring cabbage

2-3 juniper berries (per small jar)


For the pickling brine

3 parts Aspall Organic Cyder Vinegar 

1 part water  

1 part sugar  

A good pinch of salt. 

method

This recipe is designed to be flexible so you can make as  many jars as you would like. You can also make a larger batch of pickling brine to use with different vegetables (for example try Fennel & Basil) If you have any brine left over this can be stored and reheated next time you are ready to pickle.

  1. Sterilise your jar/jars by leaving them in an oven for 10 minutes or so at 100ºC, and sterilise the lids with boiling water just before you need them. 
  2. Make the pickling brine by adding the ingredients in to a small saucepan and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved. 
  3. Chop the spring cabbage to roughly £1 coin thickness, and cut to length so it will fit in to the jar of your choice.
  4. Crush the juniper berries using a pestle and mortar.
  5. Place the cabbage in to your jar along with the crushed juniper berries, cover with hot pickling brine and seal.

You can eat this within 6 hours, but we like to leave a couple of days to let the wonderful flavour of the juniper come through. This type of pickle will only keep for 3 - 4 weeks, and as the vinegar has been diluted it needs to be kept in the fridge or it will start to ferment.