Last week I had a pickling urge. Am I the only one who gets these kinds of urges?
Anyhow, the pickling urge was strong. No vegetable was safe. I made pickled beets (which I’ll share later) and then early Friday morning I attacked the carrots.
A note about pickling early in the morning: you probably want to eat breakfast first. Vinegar can let off an overwhelming aroma when heated which can confuse your taste buds. Then again you might get treated to breakfast out if you vinegar-bomb the kitchen before anyone else wakes up. Something to consider anyway.
We were headed up to the cabin with some friends for the weekend, and mid-pickle-thon I decided it would be awesome to treat our guests to a smorgasbord of tasty snacks. So what started as an urge to pickle stuff became a snacks-in-jars frenzy. I proceeded to cram everything into jars that I could get my vinegar-scented hands on.
Bonus points: having made so many snacks-in-jars means I can eat from my fridge this week and forgo the stove while the heat wave burns on (triple digit temperatures!).
Anyway, the pickled carrots recipe I used is from the Ad Hoc at Home cookbook. It’s an easy, quick pickle to make. And gets better the longer you leave it in the jar. I think next time I’ll play around with the proportions of sugar and water but this recipe is a great place to start.
What you’ll need:
A bunch or 2 of carrots. The recipe calls for up to 10 medium carrots. I used about 7.
About 1/4 of a jalapeño, split it in half and remove the seeds.
1 cup vinegar (I used champagne vinegar but apple cider vinegar would be a nice, milder option).
1/2 teaspoon yellow curry powder
Also: 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water
Now let’s pickle us some carrots…
Remove the carrot tops and peel them.
Then cut the carrots into 2-3 inch pieces on the diagonal and split these pieces in half (or quarters if it’s a thick end piece).
Toast the curry powder over medium heat for 1-2 minutes. Keep a close watch on this as it can burn quickly. You should be able to smell the curry when it’s ready.
Now everyone into the pool: Add the carrots, jalapeño, sugar, vinegar, and water. Cook over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved and then simmer for 2 minutes.
Pack your carrots into a jar (All of mine fit into a wide-mouth pint jar, but your yield may vary depending on how many carrots you use).
Allow to cool, then cover tightly and refrigerate up to 1 month, if they last that long.
What to do with pickled carrots:
- Serve alongside your favorite sandwich.
- Heck, put them on a sandwich.
- Eat them straight from the jar… they’re much less boring than regular carrot sticks.
- Or you could put some out in a dish next to other snacks-in-jars and cheeses, open a bottle of wine with your friends, and have yourselves a little nosh…
Pickled Carrots
adapted from Ad Hoc at Home
8-10 medium carrots, peeled
1/2 teaspoon yellow curry powder
1/4 jalapeño, seeded
1 cup champagne or apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
- Cut carrots into 2-inch pieces, on the diagonal. Then cut each piece in half (or into quarters for the thicker ends).
- Toast curry powder in a saucepan over medium heat for 1-2 minutes or until fragrant. Be sure to keep an eye on it as the curry can burn quickly.
- Add carrots, jalapeño, vinegar, water and sugar to the pot. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Once the sugar has dissolved, simmer for 2 minutes more.
- Pack carrots into a clean jar. Allow to cool, then cover tightly and refrigerate for up to 1 month.
More pickles to try:
- Pickled grapes with cinnamon and black pepper
- Bread and butter pickles… not a quick pickle, but totally worth the wait.
Pickled Carrots
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Any way you can send me a jar of these? Looks awesome.
I love that you took good pictures and explained everything well, then you added the recipe, too, and your narrative was funny. Thanks very much!
Can you write a water-process version of these carrots? I would love to make some and keep them in the pantry. Thanks!
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