Originally published on www.bristol2015.co.uk

You can pickle just about anything from apples to snails. Pickling is an enjoyable way to make the most of a seasonal ingredient or surplus of produce you may already have in your fridge. At my restaurant Poco in Stokes Croft we preserve an excess of produce by pickling it, saving us money and creating delicious new ingredients. For this blog I’ve chosen five root vegetables because they are in season, and therefore reasonably priced and of the best quality. Excluding hydroponically grown veg like tomatoes and salad, to shop seasonally simply check the country of origin is British.

To make the pickling solution for a 500ml jar of pickles

275ml water

100ml cider/white wine/red wine vinegar

20g salt

1tsp sugar

2 or 3 pinches of whole spices

(mustard, coriander, cumin, dill, nigella, chilli, cinnamon stick, allspice berries, garlic clove, thyme, rosemary, bay leaves, chilli, ginger etc.)

400g of a seasonal vegetable (beetroots, celeriac, kohlrabi, turnips, red onions, swedes, squash) Clean and peel your chosen vegetable. Cut them into 1cm thick sticks, slices or cubes.

Method

1) Combine the pickling ingredients in a sauce pan. Add what spices you have available and what flavours you feel will work well with your chosen vegetable (see photographs for recommendations). Bring to the boil stirring occasionally.

2) Meanwhile carefully clean a jar with very hot water. Fill the jar with the prepared vegetable. Then top with the hot pickling liquor. Screw the lid on tightly. Once cooled they are ready to eat but will keep in the fridge for a month or even longer.