Cuisine – In a right old pickle

One of the highlights of my summer was an invitation to judge the Warkworth Garden Club’s annual show. I am no floral expert, but luckily the committee had asked me to judge the Preserves section. I love making jams and sauces, so this undertaking was a real privilege for me.

My mother was really into preserving fruits and vegetables, like so many women of her generation. I have fond memories of her pantry filled with glistening jars of golden queen peaches, pineapple chutney, strawberry jam, passionfruit preserves and more, and I continue to make her classic tomato sauce recipe every year, which has become a family tradition. I don’t think my own kids ever tasted store-bought tomato sauce until they went out to eat at cafés or their friends’ homes.

The array of jars at the garden show was almost daunting – yet the hardest task of the day proved to be opening those sealed lids. It was a pleasure to taste my way through the concerted efforts that were on display from the talented kitchens of Warkworth women. More than 80 entries of jellies, marmalades, jams, preserved fruits, sauces, relishes, pickles and chutneys appeared. With two willing helpers, we tasted our way through them all!

It became obvious to me that the judging criteria rested on the texture, flavour and aroma captured in the jars throughout all the various sections. Many were sublime, making it hard to choose a first, second and third for each category. One of the key points to note when preserving is to stick to the recipe, as it is like baking – a formula that is almost scientific in its own right.

I thought that several of the entries had skimped on sugar. I guess we get so many health reminders about how bad sugar can be for us, but preserving is not the time to cut the quantity down. Especially in anything that has vinegar. Both are essential to preserving and there’s nothing worse than a gorgeously presented pickle that makes the mouth pucker with acidity. Sugar can be your friend.

Congratulations to all who entered and especially to the first prize winners. I loved Sally Greenwood’s aromatic blackberry jelly, and noted that two other women carried off two first prizes each – Avis Bayer’s crystal-clear marmalade and her beautiful thick tomato sauce had a wonderful spicy flavour, while Gloria Wilmot’s extremely plummy plum jam was delicious and her preserved feijoas were almost a work of art.

Annette Sharp won pickles with her courgette pickle, which had a lovely spicy flavour and with a soft gentle texture. I asked her for the recipe and discovered, like so many kitchen traditions and delights, that this is a pickle that’s well known throughout the district. The original version came from Eileen and Ron Trotter, longtime farmers of Wright Road, and was published (using 5kgs courgettes) in a fundraising collective cookbook, A Taste of Mahurangi, published by the Snells Beach Community Church in 2004. Here’s my version.

---

Courgette Pickle

1.5kg courgettes
5 medium onions
½ cup salt
500ml vinegar
750g sugar
2 tbsp mustard powder
2 tbsp curry powder
¾ tbsp turmeric
½ tsp ginger
Pinch cayenne pepper
125g flour
250ml vinegar

Cut the courgettes and onions into small pieces, place in a bowl and sprinkle over the salt. Cover with water and leave overnight. Next day, drain off the liquid and rinse with cold water.

Put the 500mls vinegar and the sugar in a large preserving pan, dissolve the sugar, stirring until it comes to a boil. Add the drained vegetables and boil for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Mix the all spices and flour together with the vinegar until smooth. Stir in the vegetables, return the pan to the heat and bring to the boil, stirring continuously until the mixture thickens. Cook for 2 or 3 minutes over a very gentle heat, and then set aside to settle for a minute or two.

Pour into sterile jars and seal well. Makes about six jars.

Brilliant with cold meats or with cheese.