That's what I said to a guy selling 15 bunches of asparagus at my local Farmer's Market last Saturday. Like how many pickles did I think I could make? I was able to put to bed 6L of asparagus pickles and another frozen bag of asparagus in about an hour and half. Surprisingly, it took no time. And we've got to grab all this asparagus while it is here. OK, I know, I'm getting sick of it too, but it's here for a few weeks of the year, so if you think you'll want it again, buy some, freeze it or make pickles! This wonderful vegetable has recently been proven to lower a man's PSA levels, the indicator for prostate cancer. Imagine all the benefits we don't even know about!
You have to be careful with canning, but there is less concern with things preserved in vinegar. You can boil the jars in a big pot to sterilize, but I prefer to wash them and bake them in the oven at 500 for 20 min. This way they are out of the way and I don't like to have an extra big pot going on the stove if I can help it. Then you can just boil the lids and rings in a small pot of water to sterilize. Once jars are packed with vegetable and vinegar mixture place the lid on a clean rim and tighten the ring to finger tightness. Place all the jars that need processing into a large empty pot of water. Fill the pot with water and then remove the jars and place the pot with the perfect amount of water on the stove to boil. Make sure you something that keeps the jars off the bottom of the pot. Once the water is boiling, insert the jars and boil for 10 mins. Remove the jars and allow to cool. One of my favorite noises in the world is that satisfying "pop" you hear each time a jar seals itself.
Pickled Asparagus - Three Ways
Make an asparagus ruler, by trimming asparagus to fit the size of the jars you are using. While the jars are baking, wash the asparagus and trim to the same size as the asparagus ruler. If you have really long asparagus, cut off the woody ends and make a jar of just stems with the middle portion. These are great in potato salad. Remove the jars and allow to cool till you can touch them. Prepare the vinegar mixture in a pot and bring to a boil. Choose a flavour for your asparagus and place the seasonings in the jar followed by as much asparagus as you can get in there. Use the end of a wooden spoon or spatula to push asparagus aside so you can shove in some more. Fill each jar to an inch below the brim with the vinegar mixture and place on a sterilized lid and process for 10 LBS.
Vinegar Mixture
This is sufficient for one 1L jar, so multiple based on how many jars you filled.
2 1/2 cups white vinegar
2 1/2 cups water
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 TBLS sugar
Garlic Asparagus
5 peppercorns
2 green garlic
1 fresh bay leaf (omit if you don't have fresh)
Dill Asparagus
5 pepper corns
1 fresh bay leaf
2 large sprigs of fresh dill
1 tsp of dill seed
Hot Asparagus
5 pepper corns
1 fresh bay leaf
hot pepper flakes - quantity determined by how hot you want it!
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