I'm following instructions for brining in Bar Tartine: Techniques & Recipes. They tell me to brine two pounds of ramps in two cups of brine, and indicate that the ramps should be submerged. Maybe once they've fermented for a month I'll be able to submerge them, but right now? No way. Any harm in increasing the amount of brining liquid? By a lot? Thanks all.
What are you going to do with these brined ramps? Is this a type of fermented pickle you're going for?
Tartine uses the brined ramps as an ingredient in things like mayonnaise. I always pickle about a pound of bulbs (in vinegar) & I make ramp butter; the season is extremely short, though, and I'd love a new way to hold them for later use. I don't think I've ever brined anything other than a turkey, so I'm a little befuddled by these instructions. I'm supposed to keep them submerged for 3 - 4 weeks, until they taste sour, and then I'm supposed to be able to keep them refrigerated in the brine for a year.
I agree, Ramps are a seasonal, "welcome Spring"wild fresh greens. I just like to savor the fresh taste.
I don't see why you can't increase the brine as long as you do so proportionally.
I just pickled some ramps using Sean Brock's recipe from Heritage. The greens, I pureed in some olive oil and will freeze in small tubs and ice cube trays for later. And as always, I use some fresh as well.
Articshark - For pickling I've used a Momofuku recipe that I hated, and an Amanda Hesser recipe on Food52: http://food52.com/recipes/4164-pickle.... I cut the sugar in the Hesser recipe to 1/4 cup & I really love them. I also make ramp butter every year - a small handful of bulbs, about 6 leaves & a stick of butter. Freezes like a charm & is an outstanding addition to steak...
I haven't made anyone else's pickled ramps. But I compared recipes between Heritage, Preservation Kitchen and one I found on the internet. Brock's ramp pickles are SPICY. Like it is kicked up three notches.
I plan to use them in place of cocktail onions in my olive relish for muffuletta. I also use them as the garnish in any cocktail that requires an onion as a garnish or spicy veggie garnish, like Bloody Mary's.
I haven't done this yet, but the a small part greens I pestoed with olive oil will be added into a homemade mayo to be used as a spread for grilled hamburgers and chicken panini sammies.
I like the butter idea. I do both oil and butter for my other herbs. I just didn't have the light bulb moment with ramp greens. lol
Would you be willing to paraphrase the Brock recipe?
Sure.
Ramps, rice wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, sugar, jalapeño, water, coriander seeds, fennel seeds, whole black peppercorns, whole cloves, star anise, cinnamon stick, green cardamom pod, and bay leaf. <--- I'm not sure how much is too much info. lol His book has a couple of recipes for the pickled ramps. A cauliflower dish, tartar sauce and a few others.
I have to say I've made Mr. Brock's recipe, and I think it's a waste of ramps. It's got a lot of spices in it, and peppers - it's more like a spicy cucumber pickle. But for ramps, the seasoning kind of overwhelms the ramps. I'd use this brine and spice mix for another vegetable, but ramps are so ephemeral, I'd rather use a recipe that highlights their flavor.
Mel, it is spicy, but the asian flavoring come through in mine. I noticed in the thin skinny ramps, the pickling juice does overpower the taste of the ramp. But my big fat ramp heads hold up pretty well to the pickling juice. So far, I've only eaten the pickled ramps in a vodka Gibson. The heat played well with the alcohol and the alcohol cut through the spice. The big fat heads were way better.
I have a batch of these that is now over three weeks old (used them just the other day for a batch of the ramp mayo). I did these in a Harsch crock (which, judging from the picture in the book, is what they use). This crock has a weight that you put over the vegetable to keep it submerged. Depending upon your pickling vessel, you can use a plate, or a ziploc bag full of brine (same proportions as the brine for the ramps). The point is, it is normal, and by no means cheating, to use something to keep your pickling vegetable submerged.
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