Pages

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

DIY Cornichons - French Tarragon Pickles

Canning, putting up, preserving, however you want to call it, it is what you should be doing right about now if you've got a DIY bent or a garden or just want to hold onto some of that summer freshness that actually can be "bottled"!

But it doesn't all have to be "canned." This is the time of year I will boil lots of corn for scraping off the cob and freezing for mid-winter corny cornbread. Trust me, when you taste that summer fresh taste when you pull it out of the freezer in January, it is so worth the time and effort!

To help nudge all of us towards doing some more "putting up" my friend Eve of Garden of Eating is hosting a "Can you Can it? Yes you can!" event and has even created this cute badge to display if you participate! Check out her post with all of the potential fun colors it comes in and send over your entry to her by August 17. Such fun!



Cornichons - French Tarragon Pickles

as many of the tiniest cucumbers you can find (growing them is best, pick them when they're 2 inches long at the most). I found some small, gherkin-sized pickles at Co-opportunity and used them.
2 fresh bay leaves per pint
2 cloves garlic per pint
2 large bunches fresh tarragon per pint
white wine vinegar to cover

Place tarragon, garlic and bay leaves in bottom of pint jar and pack in cukes. Pour white wine vinegar to cover and then close tightly. Allow to sit out at room temperature for at least 4 days and then they're ready. Refrigerate after you open for the first time. They will last about 3 weeks in the refrigerator once opened.

Hugs!

Recipes currently inspiring me:

Sweet Potato Sandwich Rolls at Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice
Mushroom Stuffed Chard Leaves at Thyme for Cooking
Beet Green Pesto at Nutmeg Nanny

2 comments:

Avvinare said...

Great post. Love the idea of an "can-in." I felt like running out and buying corn just to save it for January. Brava...

Eve Fox said...

These look delicious! Wish you still lived just a few blocks away... Thanks so much for entering! As of now, turnout has been surprisingly low (think that I must have posted my last contest on some kind of food blog contests web site since I got a lot more entries to that one but I don't think that site exists anymore...) so you stand a good chance of winning in a week or so if you can rally a bunch of votes. I'd love it if you won. Good luck!