Zach & Jim teach us some pickling basics.

A few weeks ago I attended a pickling class held at Merchant-a lovely local coffee and crepe shop in the CBD (central business district) of New Orleans. The class was a very charming balance of information and exploration and most important of all, I walked away with a small jar of the best pickles I have ever had in my life. EVER.

Taught by Zach, formerly of Cochon, and Jim, currently a grower of micro greens for all the best chefs in NOLA, we had a gorgeous spread of local vegetables from Holly Grove to grab and prep for our own jars.

A beautiful bounty of local veggies & fruit for pickling!

While Jim gave us all a few pickling tips and answered any questions we had, we were also able to snack on cheese, sip wine and sample a few pickled things prepared beforehand. I tried pickled blueberries for the first time and LOVED them. That was my first taste of the delicious brine that we would be using in the glass. Jim had prepared a large pot of the brine and even had some set aside for shots. I couldn’t control myself.

Shot glasses ready & waiting for a spicy shot of brine.

A shot glass just wasn’t big enough for me.

 

I fell in love with that brine people. Trust me, it was amazing. I ate as many pickled peppers that were sitting around as possible without making a scene too. Jim didn’t tell us exactly how he made the brine but he did mention a few things I’d never done before. 1) was the fact that he treats his brine more like a stock. He creates lots of flavors in the brine and brings it all to a slow simmer and then strains it. This allows him to infuse the brine with the flavors rather than just throwing your spices in the jar along with your veggies. 2) he mentioned he’d added a little touch of bloody mary mix to his brine which is what gives it that beautiful hint of red to the coloring of the brine.

My jar of packed veggies for pickling!

I still packed plenty of spices and flavors in to my jar though. I used sliced cucumbers, heirloom eggplant, carrots, garlic, thyme, greenbeans and of course, hot peppers, and man, where they HOT. I think this tiny jar of pickles pleased me so much because of the quality of the ingredients, that amazing brine and of course, those spicy peppers.

I waited over one whole week before opening the jar which goes to show I’m learning something called “self control” but once I opened the jar, the real battle of the will began. I almost offed the whole thing in one sitting and of course was drinking the juice, when a tiny voice said, “Katy…WAIT, if you save some of the brine you can add more vegetables to the brine and stretch it out a bit more!!!!” So that is the plan…until the next class at Merchant.

One of the guys at Merchant said they hoped to hold more classes there in the evenings and if they do, no matter what they are teaching. I advise you to go. The space is gorgeous and the quality couldn’t be better!