It’s been a while since I made anything from The Joy of Pickling so I decided to go back to the original experts and make this pickled fennel recipe. This recipe is particularly exciting because it uses juice in addition to vinegar…mind blown. And in case you’re a fennel newb like me and not sure how to deal with those funny-looking bulbs, here’s a helpful guide on how to cut fennel properly.
The orange combo for this recipe is a match made in flavor heaven (leave it to Martha to verify) but I found another good spice combo option here that I would definitely try in the future.
Pickled Fennel Recipe
Makes 2 pints
Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup orange juice
- 3/4 cup white vinegar
- 1 tsp pickling salt
- 1 tbsp sugar
- zest of 1 orange
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- 2 fennel bulbs
Instructions:
- Bring the orange juice, vinegar, sugar and peppercorns (NOT salt) to a boil until sugar is fully dissolved. Set aside to cool.
- Cut fennel bulbs into slices.
- Toss fennel slices in bowl with salt. Let stand for 1 hour.
- Zest orange peel into strips.
- Drain the fennel slices, discarding the brine.
- Toss the drained fennel slices with orange zest.
- Pack fennel slices and orange zest into jars. If you saved some of the fennel sprigs, add those.
- Pour the orange juice brine over jars.
- Recommended use: fennel has a strong flavor so definitely give these a few days to marinate.
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This is amazing. I’m going to try this! Can I use apple cider vinegar? What is pickling salt? Is sea salt ok?
Apple cider vinegar would work the same but that particular cider flavor might get overpowered by the orange juice. Worth a try though – it can’t hurt!
Pickling salt is essentially the same thing as kosher and sea salt – mainly just different crystal sizes so sea salt should be totally fine for this recipe. Here’s a great (and much more thorough!) article from The Kitchn about different types of salt: http://www.thekitchn.com/what-is-pickling-salt-do-you-really-need-it-193108