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Pickled Cauliflower

From the book Well-Preserved by Eugenia Bone

Yield

6 pt.

Editor’s note from Culinate contributor Tammy Donroe: Cauliflower and other cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and cabbage are thought to contain compounds that prevent cancer. A friend brought me a jar of these cauliflower pickles to celebrate finishing chemo. I liked them better than the ones I had made!

Ingredients

	~	Pickling salt or kosher salt
	2½	lb. cauliflower, broken into florets
	1	qt. white-wine vinegar or distilled white vinegar (with 5 percent acidity)
	2	cups sugar
	2	medium onions, thinly sliced
	½	tsp. hot red pepper flakes, or more to taste

Steps

Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add ¼ cup pickling or kosher salt for every gallon of water in the pot. Drop in the cauliflower florets and boil them for about 3 minutes. Drain.
In a medium non-reactive pot, combine the vinegar, sugar, onions, and hot red pepper flakes. Swirl until the sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil over medium heat and boil gently for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Bring 6 pint jars and their ring bands to a boil in a large pot of water fitted with a rack. Boil for 10 minutes. Remove the jars and ring bands with tongs.
Simmer new jar lids in a small pan of hot water to soften their rubberized flanges.
When the jars are dry but still hot, gently pack the cauliflower and the onions into the jars. (Don’t shove, as you want the florets to retain their shape.) Cover the vegetables with the vinegar solution, making sure the hot red pepper flakes are distributed well throughout. Allow ½ to ¾ inch of headspace above the vinegar solution. Wipe the rims, set on the lids, and screw on the ring bands fingertip-tight.
Place the jars in a pot fitted with a rack and add enough water to cover the jars by 3 inches. Bring the water to a boil over high heat. Process the cauliflower for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the jars sit for a few minutes, then remove them from the water. (They’ll be hot, so if you don’t have a jar lifter, ladle out some of the boiling water and grab the jars using an oven mitt.) Don’t leave the jars in the water to cool, or the cauliflower will overcook.
Allow the cauliflower to season in a cool, dark place for 4 weeks before using it, after which it will keep for up to a year. Refrigerate after opening.

This content is from the book Well-Preserved by Eugenia Bone.

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