RANGERS
Quickle pickle
What you'll need
Per batch of pickle:
- About a quarter of a cucumber
- Other vegetables to pickle (optional)
- Rice vinegar or pickling vinegar, 6 tbsp
- Sugar, 1 tbsp
- Salt, pinch
- Soy sauce, dash
- Spices (optional)
- Coriander (optional)
- Rice cakes (or something to serve the pickle on)
- Sharp knives
- Measuring spoons
- Spoon
- Bowl
- Preserved foods to try (optional – see the list of preserved foods for inspiration)
Aim of the activity
Salted, cured, dried, pickled… How would you choose to preserve your food? Discover more about the centuries-old process of pickling ingredients, and learn a new skill as you give it a go yourself.
Check girls’ allergies and dietary requirements and plan accordingly.
Preserving foods
Some of the most popular methods for preserving are:
1. Pickling
2. Freezing
3. Jellying
4. Salting
5. Smoking
6. Canning
7. Fermentation
8. Boiling
Step by step
Knife safety
When cutting, direct the knife away from you.
Always use a cutting or chopping board.
Hold on firmly to what you’re cutting.
Make sure your fingers are away from the blade.
If you drop the knife, don’t try to catch it. Step back and pick it up once it has landed.
1
What foods have you eaten today? What was fresh and what was preserved? Preserved means that it will be edible much longer than fresh food. Archaeologists even found jam from Ancient Egypt that you could still eat on your toast now!
2
Look at the preserving foods list. Can you name a food that is preserved using each of the methods? Have you tried any of these methods before?
3
It’s time to have a go at preserving your own food. You’re going to test out a method that has been around since 2300BC – pickling. Follow the recipe below to create a quick pickle. You can create one each, or split into groups.
Recipe
Scrape out the middle of the cucumber with a spoon then slice it thinly. If you’re using other vegetables too, make sure they’re cut finely. In your bowl, mix 3-6 tbsp of rice vinegar with 1 tbsp of sugar, a pinch of salt and a dash of soy sauce. You can add extra spices to adjust the flavour of your pickling liquid. Toss your vegetables in with the liquid. You can add some chopped coriander at this point, if you like. Stir well, making sure all the vegetables are covered in the liquid. Leave these to rest in the bowl for at least 15 minutes.
4
It’s time to taste your creation. Try a small amount on a rice cake. What do you think? Is it tasty? Try someone else’s to see how it compares, then think about what ingredients you would change or add in future.