Rebecca Orchant turns to her favorite life prolonging technique to save a bunch of lovely, tender spring veggies.
Rebecca Orchant
Don’t tell me you’re tired of asparagus already. If you’re anything like me, you gobble up these harbingers of spring with extreme prejudice. They’ve been sauce gribiched, sliced into ribbons, pureed into soup — we really gave asparagus the business this season. However, due to my Sidekick and my excitement over spring produce, we still had some kicking around in the crisper. It makes me sad and guilty to see lovely, tender veggies shrivel up in the fridge, so I turned to my favorite method of prolonging their lives: pickling. 
Pickled Asparagus
- Total Time: 3 weeks 10 minutes
- Yield: 1 pint 1x
Description
Makes one pint of pickles.
Ingredients
- 1 large garlic clove, sliced
- 3 juniper berries
- 6 black peppercorns
- 5 coriander seeds
- 1 small piece nutmeg
- big pinch red pepper flakes
- strip of lemon zest
- 1 bunch asparagus
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) white wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) water
- 1/2 tsp. pickling salt
- 1/4 tsp. sugar
Instructions
- Add first seven ingredients to clean, pint-sized mason jar.
- Pack level spears of asparagus tightly into the jar.
- Bring last four ingredients to a boil in a non-reactive saucepan and pour over the asparagus.
- Let jar come to room temperature on the counter, then store in the refrigerator.
- Let sit for three weeks before eating.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Condiment
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 20
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- Caprese Bites
- Smoked Trout Bites Paired with Pinot Grigio
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does the pickled asparagus need to sit for three weeks?
This is a refrigerator quick pickle. The asparagus needs 3 weeks in the jar before eating so the brine (white wine vinegar, water, sugar, salt) and the aromatics — juniper berries, peppercorns, coriander seeds, nutmeg, lemon zest, red pepper flakes — fully penetrate the spears and develop flavor.
Do I need to process this in a water bath to make it shelf-stable?
No — the instructions say to let the jar come to room temperature on the counter and then store it in the refrigerator. This is a refrigerator pickle, not a canning recipe; it should be kept cold and is not shelf-stable for pantry storage.
Can I use a different vegetable with this same brine?
The article describes pickling as Rebecca Orchant’s favorite method for extending the life of lovely spring produce, implying the aromatic brine works with other vegetables. The flavors — juniper, coriander, nutmeg, lemon zest — are light and versatile for other crisp vegetables.
such an interesting recipe and great video! what is this song called, I really like it? :)
That’s brilliant, and I loved your video recipe, Thanks for sharing!
Thank you! Let us know if you give them a try!