Dish 34: Swiss Chard Stem Pickles

Leftover swiss chard stems? We can pickle that.

We can pickle that two ways.

I made these about a week ago, wasn't sure I liked them, but one variety worked very well in something else I'll post about soon- so I thought context was necessary.

The volunteer at the CSA pickup said chard stems- especially the dark red ones- had a slight beety flavor. My favorite thing to do with beets is pickle them. This Alton Brown recipe is my go-to though I tweak a bit. Maybe I'll do that pickle with a future batch if I get chard again.

As soon as I saw this Sriracha pickle recipe I knew I had to make it. At least conceptually. But it seemed to have way, way too much sugar.  So I adapted.  Each variety contains:

Pint of swiss chard stems (see what looks like it fits, don't stress)

2 cloves garlic stems, crushed

1 cup distilled white vinegar

1 cup rice vinegar

1/2 cup sugar

The sriracha pickles have:  3 tbs sriracha, 1/2 tsp curry

The others have: 1 tsp black pepper, 1/2 tsp mustard seed, 1/2 tsp red pepper flake, bay leaf

Chard and garlic went into the jars. The brine was heated in a pot on the stove for a bit (vinegar bomb. I'm used to it, but warning- it'll definitely clear out your sinuses) then poured over the pickles. 

Leave them on the counter a bit to cool then throw in the fridge. They need to, well, pickle for at least a few days. So patience.

The sriracha pickles were waay too spicy. Right now the sriracha seems to have sank in the brine a bit, so it's a bit more tolerable, but I guess there was a reason there was so much sugar in that recipe.

The mustardy pickle is really pleasant. I was worried because the day after I made these I realized I hadn't added salt- but I'm not sure it really needs it. Another, future, batch will get some adjustments.

Notes for improvement: 

- put some onions in there?

- taste the brine more- especially in something as thin as chard. I would've realized how offensive the sriracha pickles were when I had more time to fix them