Pickled asparagus

We were veritable pickling machines at our pickling party, and thus was able to also pickle a bit of purple asparagus. It was amusing to see that the purple did not last long, as the pickle juice was a lovely shade of magenta by the time we put the jar of pickles on the shelf.

Recipe

from The Joy of PicklingMakes 5 12-oz jars5 large garlic cloves, sliced15 whole allspice berries30 whole black peppercorns20 whole coriander seeds5 small pieces of mace or nutmeg1/2 tsp hot pepper flakes (optional)~3 lbs asparagus, trimmed to fit2-1/2 cups white wine vinegar2-1/2 cups water2-1/2 tsp pickling salt2 tbsp sugarDivide the garlic, allspice, peppercorns, coriander, mace or nutmeg and hot pepper flakes among five jars. Pack the asparagus vertically in the jars, tips down or up. In a saucepan, bring to a boil the vinegar, water, salt and sugar, stirring to dissolve the salt and sugar. Pour the hot liquid over the asparagus, leaving 1/2" headspace. Close the jars with 2-piece caps and process for 10 minutes in a boiling-water bath. Store the cooled jars in a cool, dry, dark place for at least 3 weeks before eating. After opening a jar, store in the refrigerator.

Musings

A few notes on preparation: we used quart jars instead of 12-oz jars. We also used purple asparagus instead of green.The flavour profile of these pickles was well-balanced between sweet and tart, with a bit of spiciness thrown in. We'd actually made this recipe before with likely sub-par asparagus, so this was a marked improvement. They had nice body, both in flavour and texture. D noted that he should have peeled them at the bottom before pickling. Though these haven't been stringy, he thinks that it could potentially be a problem for the bigger stalks.