Martha visited a farmer's market in Moscow, and she featured a stand which sold Russian style pickled vegetables. It was fascinating to me, because everything looked like it was freshly picked, extremely vibrant in color, not mushy but crisp, and many types of things were available which I would never have dreamed of being pickled, let alone being pickled and keeping their color and texture, like whole beefstake tomatos, asparagus spears, yellow and green beens, beets with their greens, whole carrots. I think there were even things like whole eggplants and ears of sweet corn. The colors were spectacular -- bright green, bright red, bright orange, just like when the produce was fresh.

Martha said it was a salt fermentation process, but it can't be done like making sauerkraut or kim chee or Chinese pickled vegetables, because that method of layering vegetables and salt in a crock, while it creates acid and preserves the produce, turns them into near mush and takes most of the color out.

Does anyone know how this was done? Besides salt, are other chemicals used to keep the color -- I'm wondering if they use some type of nitrate or nitrate like is used to cure meat and retain the pinkish color in hams and sausages?

Any information which could be provided would be appreciated.

http://www.russianfoods.com/recipes/group00001/default.asp

Good luck!

If you can get your library to order "Joy of Pickling" by Linda Ziedrich, she has recipes for Russian apples, cherry tomatoes, lemons, dill cucumber pickles, cherries and soured cabbage.

She's a great source for pickling info, especially recipes from other cultures. I highly recommend.

Carol

"The Joy of Pickling" 1998 ed Page 75

PICKLED APPLES

Another Russian specialty, brined apples retain their crispness but acquire a flavor like that of sparkling wine.

3 quarts water
1/4 cup honey
8 tsp pickling salt
2 or 3 handfuls sour cherry leaves
4 to 6 tarragon sprigs
3 lbs small, tart apples, such as Gravensteins

1. In a nonreactive pot, bring to a boil the water, honey, and salt, stirring to
dissolve salt. Let the brine cool.

2. Spread some of the cherry leaves and 1 or 2 tarragon sprigs on the bottom
of a 1-gallon jar. Add a layer of apples placed on their sides; 3 should just fit.
Layer more leaves, tarragon, and apples, and then repeat again for a third
layer. Top with the rest of the leaves and tarragon. Pour enough of the brine
over the apples to cover them well. Push a freezer bag into the mouth of the
jar, and pour the remaining brine into the bag. Seal the bag. Let the jar stand
at room temperature for 5 to 6 days, until fermentation slows.

3. Remove the brine bag, cap the jar tightly, and set it in a dark place where
the temperature doesn't rise above 50 degrees F (I have used a refrigerator
with good results). Let the jar stand for 30 to 40 days before eating the
apples.

After you open the jar, the apples will keep well for at least 1 week if you
store them in the refrigerator.

Makes 1 gallon

Originally, I used it as an "end of garden" pickling idea, as I had a lot of this-and-thats at the end of the summer. But it was so successful, that I now use it for fermenting pickles and veggies before canning. The colors stay nice and the vegetables themselves remain crispy.

His recipe goes something like this:

Use lots of fresh dill between layers, etc.

Layer vegetables including: garlic, red peppers, artichokes, small onions, cauliflower, peppers, nasturium buds, etc. I also used lots of small green cherry tomatoes, carrots need a bit of pre-cooking to soften them, also, he advises a short blanch for green beans and wax beans. Top off with more dill weed.

I didn't have a crock, but used a gallon glass jug. I put a plastic bag filled with brine on the jug before putting on the metal lid (to prevent acid-reaction)and to discourage formation of yeast.

He then covers the veggies with some brine, which he says is 3/4ths measure of salt to 10 measures of water. He also added 1/4 cup of vinegar. (I figured he meant cups by his use of the word measure - so if the crock is more or less than 10 cups, the measurements would need to be converted accordingly).

He weights the crock with a board and a rock - but in my case, I used a brine-filled plastic bag on top of the veggies, to keep them submerged - then the plastic bag and metal cover.

This is allowed to cure at room temperature for about 2 weeks.

These can then be kept in the refrigerator or processed.

To process:

Sterilize jars.
Pack in hot jars.
Strain brine, bring to boil and pour over veggies.
Leave 1/2 in. headspace.
Seal and process 15 minutes in BWB.

He also mentions making a new brine if desired - using 4 cups of vinegar to 1 gallon of water.

Bejay