Pickled Rosemary Carrots

This post is about 2 food events.  One I can do, and one I can’t.  Let’s begin with what I can do.  As most of you do, I spend an inordinate amount of time reading blogs, and one of the things I kept noticing was Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum.  And I thought, hey, I do food.  I do food on Friday.  Why am I not doing Foodie Friday?  There was no good answer to that question, so here I am.  It’s Friday, here is my food.

Now, on to the food even that I can’t do, The Tigress’ Can Jam.  This is a canning challenge, where every month a new ingredient is spotlighted. I want to improve my canning, and the only way to do that is practice, practice, practice, so this was perfect.  Only one prob.  I was too late to sign up.  So, I’m doing it anyway.  Private like.  January was citrus, missed that, because, of course, I was too late.  February was carrots and here they are!

If you are new to canning, I highly recommend beginning with something pickled.  It’s so easy, it’s all water bathed and with some vinegar, some pickling salt and spices and a few veggies, you are ready to go.  I chose Pickled Rosemary Carrots from:

Well Preserved: Small Batch Preserving for the New Cook

I can’t tell you if these are good or not, because I’m letting them age a little.  Most pickles improve with a little age on them.  Aren’t they pretty? 

Now, I’m not going to go into deep canning specifics, you really need a book or a good website for that.  But it is not difficult.  Really, I had these done in under an hour.  The more you do, the better you get and the faster you get.  You don’t have to keep looking up how to do anything.  Also, I halved the recipe because I only had 2 pounds of carrots.

Pickled Rosemary Carrots

• 3 cups water
• 3 cups vinegar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup pickling salt
• 2 T. mixed peppercorns
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled
• 6 hot chili peppers, preferably red
• 4 pounds carrots, peeled, cut into sticks about 4 inches by 1/2 inch
• six 3-inch sprigs of fresh rosemary

Prepare preserving jars per canning directions.  Combine the water, vinegar, sugar, salt and peppercorns in a pot.  Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes.

Working with 1 jar at a time, place 1 clove of garlic and 1 chili pepper into each hot, sterilized jar.  Pack the carrots in tightly, standing them upright.  Slide one sprig of rosemary into the jar.  Carefully pour the vinegar solution into the jars, leaving a 1/4 inch head space.  Release air bubbles and wipe the rims clean.  Top with lid and band (per canning instructions).  Process the jars in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes. 

Makes 5 to 6 pint jars.