PICKLING SPICE Try this pickling spice in your pickles instead of buying a premade pickling spice. This recipe makes about 1 cup of ready-to-go pickling spice. Ingredients
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6 Tbsp. mustard seed 3 Tbsp. whole allspice 6 tsp. coriander seed 6 whole cloves 3 tsp. ground ginger 3 tsp. red pepper flakes 3 bay leaves 3 cinnamon sticks
Procedure
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Crush cinnamon sticks roughly. Crumble bay leaves. Combine all ingredients. Store in an airtight container.
SHARON’S TIPS FOR PICKLING SPICE How to Use Pickling Spice
Simply substitute an equal amount of this homemade version in recipes, using in your pickle recipes as directed. Remember, you can adapt seasonings. The beauty of a homemade recipe like this is that you control the flavors. These ingredients can be adjusted according to taste. Experiment and see what you come up with. If you wanted to make a spicy pickle, you could add some more red pepper flakes. Or if you don’t want any heat, you could leave them out. I came
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PICKLES & CONDIMENTS
up with this recipe’s combination by looking at several various recipes online, and then seeing what I had on hand and adapting to our tastes. For example, we are not big on cinnamon. Though some recipes used LOTS of cinnamon, I only added a smaller amount. When pickling spices are used, they are usually tied in a cheesecloth bag and cooked to release the flavors. Then they are removed before canning.