What do You Need for Pickling?

Pickling is a great way to preserve foods. Most people associate pickling with cucumbers, but as many are starting to see it can be used for nearly any type of produce. Just to give you an idea of foods that you can pickle, here are a few that have recipes in The Complete Book of Pickling:

• Artichokes
• Asparagus
• Green Beans
• Beets
• Radishes
• Cantaloupe
• Cherries
• Figs
• Grapes
• Crabapples
• Strawberries
• Plums
• and much more...

And of course the book has the more traditional pickle recipes as well. So that brings us to... What do you need for pickling? What tools will you need to get started? Well, I personally recommend having a book with instructions, many canning books have some pickling recipes in them, including the Ball Blue Book of Canning. And, of course, some of the tools you need may vary depending on the food that you are pickling.

But here are the basics:

• A Large Pot
• A Canner
• Pint Pickling Jars
• Spoons & Ladles
• Jar Lifter
• Canning Lids (be sure they are the correct size for your jars)
• Canning Rings (be sure they are the correct size for your jars)
• Canning Funnel
• Lid Wand or Lid Lifter to pick the lids up out of the boiling water after sanitizing them.

And of course you will need your ingredients (which will vary depending on the recipe that you use) and typical kitchen items such as kitchen towels, etc.

We would love to hear about your pickling adventures, what have you tried and liked or didn't like? Please share in the comments.