(Jim's) Spicy Jalapeno/Ginger Pickled Carrots!

About a year ago, I went to an Indian restaurant with a friend of mine. On the table were the usual little jars of condiments, chutneys, etc. One little jar contained chopped carrots marinated in a hot oil with sliced jalapenos. There was a hint of ginger to the flavor as well. We finished off that little jar and debated asking for more.

I decided to try replicating the recipe at home. Because I’m into fermentation and I’m leery of preserving things in oil (which can lead to anaerobic fermentation, something that can be a little dangerous) I decided to try duplicating this wonderful combination of flavors as a pickle. It didn’t take me too long to work out this very simple recipe for spicy jalapeno/ginger pickled carrots, although I did make a few mistakes along the way before realizing that in this case simplest was best.

I believe that this would make a great recipe for children because of its simplicity. Carrots can be a little tricky to cut so I recommend that an adult cuts the veggies or supervises carefully. Prepackaged carrot sticks would also work. Whole baby carrots would also be good.

If you don’t like ginger, you can omit it. If you don’t like jalapeno pepper, you can either omit it or use a bell pepper for milder flavor (or if you’re a hothead, you could substitute habaneros and/or add some cayenne.) I like to nibble on the jalapeno and ginger as well as the carrots. Mirin is a sweet asian rice wine used for cooking. I find adding a little mirin or sherry adds a little sweetness and complexity, but it’s certainly not necessary.

I should note that in my head this recipe is not Spicy Jalapeno/Ginger Pickled Carrots, but JIM’S Spicy Jalapeno/Ginger Pickled Carrots. I feel that this recipe is MINE, ALL MINE!! (Maniacal laughter) I came up with this recipe on my own, and I’m very happy with it. However, the truth is that the recipe is so simple that I’d be surprised if it isn’t also Linda’s/Betty’s/John’s/Toshio’s/Whoever’s Spicy Jalapeno/Ginger Pickled Carrots. Whatever. I definitely invite you to try this recipe and make it YOUR Spicy Jalapeno/Ginger Pickled Carrots. You’ll be glad you did and I promise I won’t tell. Now on to the recipe.



Per 2 pints or 1 quart:

Approximately 1 lb. carrots, peeled and cut into matchsticks

1 hand (meaning a whole root with it’s “fingers”) ginger, peeled and cut into strips

3-4 jalapeno peppers, cut either lengthwise

2 tablespoons mirin or cooking sherry (optional)

Whole peppercorns (optional)

5 tablespoons non-iodized salt.

First, make your brine. My brine formula for this recipe is 5 tablespoons salt per quart of water. I find I use about ½ quart of brine per quart in this recipe, but I usually make a full quart just in case. Put the salt into a quart jar, add a couple tablespoons of mirin or sherry, fill the jar with water, seal the jar and shake to dissolve the salt. Let it sit as you are preparing the other ingredients, shaking it occasionally. If you are using tap water, you may want to boil this mixture a bit to evaporate any chlorine.

Next, cut up your veggies. Whether using a quart jar or a couple pint jars, I measure my carrots against the jar. I usually cut them about to 3/4 of an inch shorter than the jar. You can cut them shorter, but I don’t recommend cutting them any longer, as you need to be sure to keep the carrots completely submerged in the brine.



A trick I picked up recently for peeling ginger from a cooking show on TV: use the back of a spoon to scrape the skin off. This works like a charm. When I saw the chef do this, I kind of did a facepalm because I’ve always had trouble with ginger and ended up throwing away about half of it in the peeling process.

Now, pack the carrots, jalapeno slices, and ginger into your jar. Turn the jar on its side and start packing them in, alternating them to make it attractive. Your goal here is to pack them in kind of tightly so that when you add the brine it remains submerged and doesn’t float to the top.



Once the jars are nicely packed, add the brine almost to the top, leaving about a ½ inch gap and seal the jars. Place jars where if the jars start to “blow” the water can drain harmlessly. I place them in a bowl or around the edge of my sink for about a week.

Fermentation should start in 1 to 3 days. Crack the lid once or twice a day to allow gasses to escape or leave the lid a little loose. The brine will get very fizzy. Don’t be alarmed; this is natural. After about 3 days you can start sampling the carrots. Carrots will take a week or two to fully develop.
These carrots are so tasty I don’t think you’ll have to worry about how long they’ll keep, but they should keep for at least three months.

Thank you for reading. Next week I’ll start discussing sauerkraut, and I’ll probably do several posts on that subject—history,anecdotes, practices…and of course recipes!