Quick Purple Kohlrabi Pickles
Adapted from Linda Ziedrich’s The Joy of Pickling3/4 lb young purple kohlrabi bulbs, stems trimmed, and cut into large matchsticks (do not peel) (about 3 2-inch bulbs)
3/4 t. fine grain sea salt
1/2 c. unseasoned rice vinegar (or if using seasoned, leave out the 1 T. sugar called for in the recipe)
1/2 c. water
2 medium garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
Zest of 1/2 a lemon, in strips
1 T. sugar
1/4 t. black peppercorns, crushed
2 thin slices fresh ginger
1/4 t. hot pepper flakesIn a bowl, toss kohlrabi with salt. Let stand for about 1 hour
Drain the kohlrabi and pack into a pint jar or other piece of tupperware. Bring the remaining ingredients to a boil and immediately pour them over the kohlrabi and mix. Cover and let cool to room temperature.
Once cool, place jar in the refrigerator. Let pickles mature for about 1.5 – 2 days. Pickles will keep (refrigerated) for about three weeks. Enjoy!
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Ever since I bought Linda Ziedrich’s book The Joy of Pickling, I’ve had pickles on the brain… not the typical pickles one usually imagines — you know, made with cucumbers, puckering-ly salty, sour, sweet, or vinegar-y, filled with preservatives, usually used as a topping for hamburgers…. No, my mind has been filled with all sorts of unusual and unique pickles spanning the gamut of the food spectrum — cantaloupe pickles, pickled eggs, squash pickles, pickled figs, pickled beef tongue (?!), green tomato pickles, miso pickles, half-sour cabbage, kimchi, and turnip pickles to name a few…. oh yes, and kohlrabi pickles of course!
I was walking through the farmer’s market last weekend when I came across a vendor selling big, beautiful bunches of purple kohlrabi. Kohlrabi is a bulbous vegetable with dark green leaves that is a member of the cabbage family; whereas most cabbages put their energy into producing a large and dense head of leaves, kohlrabi puts its energy into producing a large bulb that has a similar texture to the core of a head of cabbage. Most often you’ll find green kohlrabi, but if you’re lucky, you might find some purple kohlrabi at your local farmer’s market. Since I had intentions to make a quick pickle that day, yet hadn’t decided what type, I purchased a bunch of purple kohlrabi and decided that these would be the inaugural pickles.
Besides the bulb, the green leaves of kohlrabi can be eaten — simply use them like any other mild yet sturdy cooking green. After using the bulbs to make these pickles, I stripped the center stems of the leaves and made creamed kohlrabi greens that turned out beautifully (chop and steam the greens, add a little sour cream, horseradish, butter, and nutmeg — yum!). The leaves are actually quite tasty — less bitter than collard greens, but with the same hearty yet velvety texture…
And finally to the pickles! These quick pickles take only about two days to mature, as opposed to most pickles and krauts that take time on the order of weeks or months rather than days to mature. With the addition of lemon zest and red pepper flakes, these end up having a lovely complexity not found in most store-bought pickles; also, they’re slightly vinegar-y, but not too sour and not at all salty. Additionally, since these are ‘quick’ and not meant to be preserved, you don’t have to mess with properly canning your pickles — just drop the ingredients into a jar, shake, shake, shake, and that’s it — no boiling or processing is needed.
As for pickling itself, I’ve got lots of plans for the upcoming summer — pickled okra, watermelon rind pickles, red miso celery pickles, quick carrot pickles, and of course, some more traditional cucumber pickles (made with the Suyo Long and Mexican Sour Gherkin cucumbers from my garden!). Do you pickle at all? if so, what are you favorite things to make?
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April 22nd, 2008at 8:47 pm(#)
Very nice! I’m not much about delayed gratification so a quick pickle sounds great. I never knew what to do with kohlrabi, but now I’ll have to get some — I saw purple the other day.
April 22nd, 2008at 8:50 pm(#)
Susan – I highly recommend checking out Linda Ziedrich book as well — it’s got a whole section on quick pickles — probably 30-40 recipes!
April 23rd, 2008at 6:16 am(#)
I must admit I never heard of this pickle before. Can I grow it in zone 5? I live in Ontario, Canada.
What does Kholrabi taste like? What family of veg. is it?
Thanks
Heather
April 23rd, 2008at 6:56 am(#)
Hi Heather – Kohlrabi is a member of the cabbage family and sort of tastes like the core of a head of cabbage — I’d call it simple and earthy. I believe it would grow in Zone 5 — I think you’d want to either start it indoors in early april, or sow directly towards the end of april (or the fall equivalent).
Here’s a link discussing exactly this
April 25th, 2008at 8:51 am(#)
Hi Jen–
These pickles look fabulous! I love just about anything pickled and so I will seek out this book for sure! I’ve been making a mixed refrigerator pickle for years, courtesy of an old cookbook by Jacques Pepin. You just keep adding to the jar (extras from other fresh veggie uses are fine)and topping off with a brine. It makes for an amazing combination of flavors and textures and compliments all kinds of dishes (and the pickles are great, just for munching).
Just to say, I love this site. You already know that. But I’m wanting to say so again. D.
April 25th, 2008at 7:40 pm(#)
I’m always looking for new ways to use kohlrabi and these pickles look simple and absolutely wonderful. Can’t wait to try the recipe!
The other pickles you’ll be sharing in the future all sound fantastic as well and I’m particularly intrigued by the red miso celery. Will be sure to visit again. I’m quite enjoying your site.
April 26th, 2008at 12:04 pm(#)
Yum, I did something similar but I added thinly sliced onions the year we got engagement. We had the engagement party at my parents house and I decided to put in kale and kohlrabi in instead of annuals to decorate the front walk. So, come late summer, we made pickles. And, I too have the pickle/ preserve bug. I am planning to make kimchi.
April 27th, 2008at 9:32 am(#)
My favorite pickle?
Why, spicy pickled beets (with onions), of course!
April 28th, 2008at 9:53 am(#)
Deborah – Thanks for your compliment! what sorts of veggies do you put in the mixed refrigerator pickles? I saw a similar idea in this cookbook, but with an asian flair — you make a paste using brown rice flour(???) and water, then start ‘feeding’ it with scraps for a week or two — after the initial feeding period you start putting whole veggies or veggie pieces into the mixture and then they’re ready in a few days…
Cassie – Thanks for commenting! These pickles really couldn’t be easier, and they’re delicious. I’ll probably make the red miso celery pickles within the next few weeks and will post the results
Maybelles Mom – I love the idea of decorating with edibles — have you ever seen the book ‘The Moosewood Kitchen Garden’? It has growing information as well as ideas on how to design all sorts of kitchen gardens, ranging from a few containers to almost an acre!
Rebecca – As you might have guess from the name of this site, I love all things beet related, including pickled beets. I’ve never had them spicy though — perhaps you can post the recipe to your site?? :)
April 28th, 2008at 3:00 pm(#)
I’ve only just discovered kohlrabi, and I’ve been afraid of DIY pickling (unless you count the batch of cucumbers a few years back that went terribly awry). I’m going to have to give this a try. Thank you! :)
May 2nd, 2008at 1:36 pm(#)
Well, I made them and they are great! The flavor reminded my husband and me of the tsukemono (pickles of various kinds) that are served at just about every meal in Japan, including breakfast. Thanks again for the recipe, and for the book recommendation too.
May 2nd, 2008at 1:51 pm(#)
Hi Susan – I’m glad you liked them! I especially enjoy the hint of lemon. Speaking of savory (or pickled) breakfast, I am completely on board — when I was living in India my favorite breakfast was spicy okra with chapati… so much more satisfying to me than sweets or pastries
May 5th, 2008at 7:34 pm(#)
[...] at Modern Beet is making Quick Kohlrabi Pickles this [...]
May 6th, 2008at 12:03 am(#)
[...] Carlile presents Quick Purple Kohlrabi Pickles posted at Modern [...]
June 12th, 2008at 8:56 pm(#)
[...] pickles, pickles of every kind… that’s how the last few months have been going — pickled kohlrabi, pickled lemons, pickled cabbage, pickled onions, and now pickled eggs! Pickled peppers, pickled [...]
July 27th, 2008at 2:35 am(#)
I’m a bit of a beginner at pickling stuff, but that photo is an inspiration! Such a lovely shade of purple.
March 19th, 2009at 12:28 pm(#)
Jen, thank you for the review of my book. I’m sorry I took nearly a year to find it.
I have never seen purple kohlrabi before! I’ll have to look for it.
I used to live in the Santa Cruz Mountains, too, in the town of Ben Lomond.
Keep up the good work!
March 20th, 2009at 5:26 am(#)
Hi Linda — Thanks for commenting! And thanks even more for writing the book! I have made and enjoyed many recipes from ‘The Joy of Pickling’ — I now have a batch of half-sour cabbage going nearly all the time. Learning how to pickle, preserve, and ferment has been great for me, and has allowed me to pretty much cut out all processed foods from my diet. If you’re ever in need of recipe testers for your cookbooks, I would gladly help!
August 28th, 2009at 11:07 am(#)
I was looking for information on preserving kohl rabi and was not having a great deal of success. I saw your recipe and am going to give it a try. Also, I endorse knowing where your food originates. As a result, I grow all my own vegetables and other foods, and limit my purchases of food items to those things that I cannot, or have not raised myself. I preserve enough food each year to feed myself and family, and have enough left over that I give to others to enjoy.
August 28th, 2009at 11:44 am(#)
Bruce — thanks for commenting! That is commendable that you grow all your own vegetables! I’m just curious, how much garden space do you have? I think that for the foreseeable future I am going to have a limited amount of space to grow things, but would like to maximize what I can grow.
On a different note, I would highly recommend picking up The Joy of Pickling if you are looking for different ways to preserve the things you grow. The Ball Blue Book of Canning also looks interesting, but I don”t own it yet
September 1st, 2009at 4:04 pm(#)
Thanks so much for this recipe. I grew up loving fresh green kohlrabi. I will be out on the lookout for the purple ones. Here in The Ft. Worth area they look at you like you are crazy when you ask if they have any. I have to get some seeds and grew my own.
Now I am on my way to Amazon to look for that pickling book.
thanks so much for the recipe again.
I just joined your group and I love yur site.
September 1st, 2009at 4:40 pm(#)
I forgot to mention I love to make dill pickled Okra and Dilled green tomatoes and dilled cauliflower. Three of my favorites. Yes! I am all about the dill.
If you don’t have a recipe I will be happy to share mine. we really enjoy them.
July 7th, 2010at 5:36 am(#)
[...] Last year raw. This year cooked. Next year? I’m thinking pickled. [...]
July 11th, 2010at 3:48 am(#)
I made your pickles this week and they are fabulous! I had one small purple kohlrabi left from the farmer’s market, so I supplemented with some frenched onion and got two jelly jars packed tightly. Enjoyed them last night along side my martini and some smoked whitefish. Delish! Thank you!
July 28th, 2010at 4:40 am(#)
[...] Adapted from Modern Beet [...]
January 5th, 2011at 11:31 am(#)
I’m the founder/moderator for Punk Domestics (www.punkdomestics.com), a community site for those of use obsessed with, er, interested in DIY food. It’s sort of like Tastespotting, but specific to the niche. I’d love for you to submit this to the site. Good stuff!
April 24th, 2011at 6:28 pm(#)
[...] pickles, pickles of every kind… that’s how the last few months have been going — pickled kohlrabi,pickled lemons, pickled cabbage, pickled onions, and now pickled eggs! Pickled peppers, pickled [...]