Turmeric Pickled Cauliflower

I will eat pretty much anything pickled. Sure I love the typical things like cucumbers, green tomatoes, and green beans but it goes much further than that. I’ve been known to snack on pickled cocktail onions with cheese. A few weeks ago I got super excited about a pickled egg appetizer at a bar around the corner (delicious, by the way). When we go out to eat, Jeff will often pass me any mediocre pickles that accompany his dish, which I will almost always eat. There is no fruit or vegetable that I can think of that I would not happily enjoy once it’s been steeped in vinegar and salt. And if you’ve been following this blog since the beginning, you know that this is not the first time I’m sharing a pickle recipe.

The idea for cauliflower pickles came from something I saw at the store. San Francisco is home to more interesting food treats that I can hope to ever buy so I often try to recreate the things I see on a more reasonable budget. Pickled cauliflower I knew would be amazing (giardiniera anyone?) but I wasn’t sure what the addition of turmeric would do the final flavor. I mostly use turmeric in two places: yellow rice and Indian food, and I can’t claim to use it with flavor in mind. Mostly when I think of it I think of the bright yellow color that it adds to food. But when I found cauliflower in the sale bin, I knew it was worth trying a batch, even if it didn’t turn out as I’d expected.

Let’s take a second to talk about the cauliflower I’m using. One of the things I discovered upon moving to the Bay Area, is that cauliflower is not always white. (Sidenote: Carrots are historically white. Seriously. Mind. Blown.) Orange and purple cauliflower are fairly common here and while they don’t taste any different from the white variety, they are fun to add to a dish for the color variation. And since the final product would be dyed yellow by the turmeric, I saw no reason not to start with a pre-colored version.

And the effect of that turmeric? It gives a sweetness to the final pickle and a kind of earthy, mustardy flavor although it’s not spicy by any stretch of the imagination. Vinegar pickles, unlike fermented pickles (think supermarket kosher dill spears versus real deli half sours), do not have a particularly complex flavor unless the vinegar brine has some things added to it. In this case the onions and turmeric add a lot to the final product. This is a pretty mellow pickle and as a result it makes a great accompaniment to cheese, salads (go easy on the vinaigrette though), or just eaten straight from the jar. If you choose to water bath can it, you can enjoy them over the next year but otherwise you’ll have to eat them within a few weeks. If they make it that long.

A quick note on canning (there are lots below, don’t worry): It takes a lot of attention and space on your stovetop but once you figure it out it’s pretty easy to do and the payoff is huge since you often end up with 5 or 6 jars from one round of canning. If you haven’t tried water bath canning, now is a great time. Also, if you are someone (like me) who generally does not read the recipe until halfway through making it, this is a time to read the whole thing before you start. Trust me; it will make the process much easier.

If you have never canned anything, I highly recommend checking out this post for some great tips. I’ve also added some “whys” for the steps below, noted by italics.