Benefits of Pickles and Pickling Vegetables

When you are trying to preserve food, one of the easiest ways to preserve food is pickling. Learn the benefits of pickles and pickling vegetables.

Benefits of Pickles and Pickling Vegetables

Pickling is one of the oldest forms of food preservation. It involves submerging the food in either vinegar or salt brine to keep it from going bad. The goal is to prevent bad bacteria from growing. In the case of using vinegar to pickle, the high acidity of the vinegar prevents most bacteria from thriving and that preserves the food as long as it is submerged in the vinegar solution.

Benefits of Fermenting

With brine pickling, controlled fermentation is encouraged like in the case of sauerkraut and kimchi. This allows for good bacteria to grow. This crowds out any bad bacteria that will cause the food to spoil. The interesting thing is that the look, texture, and flavor of the food changes.

Health Benefits of Pickles and Pickling

Fermented foods make a great addition to your diet. The beneficial bacteria in these foods are healthy for you and help you improve the bacteria that live in your gut. This has a beneficial impact on anything from your digestion to your immune system.

In other words, eating pickled foods on a regular basis is good for you, prevents blood sugar spikes and type 2 diabetes, lowers blood pressure and your overall gut health when enjoyed with healthy eating.

Sauerkraut is another great example of fermented food, as is Kimchi. Fermented pickled vegetables can be found across the globe and it’s a preservation method that has been used for thousands of years. With the fermentation process, there’s no need for power, cold temperatures, or special equipment.

As long as you have salt, you can figure out a way to ferment and preserve your harvest in one form or another. It’s a fun and interesting aspect of food preservation to get into. Since each culture fermented different types of foods and in different ways, there are all sorts of different dishes to explore.

What Produce Can Be Pickled?

Pickling is also one of the more cost-effective ways to preserve food. And the same type of food can be pickled in a few different ways. For example, one of the most popular pickled foods in the US (at least if you consider the variety of different pickles in the grocery store).

While pickles are the most popular, other fruits and vegetables work well when it comes to pickling.

Some others that to fantastic when it comes to pickling are peppers, rhubarb, cauliflower, ginger, asparagus, turnips, carrots, parsnips, beets, fennel, green beans, mushrooms, onions, radishes, squash, strawberries, blueberries, grapes, peaches, tomatoes, cherries, and watermelon. The list goes on and on.

Do I Have to Can Pickled Foods?

When you are have canned food, it can stay on a shelf until it is opened. When you have pickled foods, you want to store them in the refrigerator. While some people choose to keep their pickled food at room temperature, it is possible for the pickled food to spoil.

Can You Freeze Pickled Foods?

You can put pickled foods in the freezer. It is a simple way to make the food last longer. When you move the pickled food to the freezer, move the food into a plastic freezer bag before freezing. Save the brine or pickling liquid when you move the food, and add some of it to the freezer bag. The food will be fresh in the freezer for a year.