Cauliflower Pickles with Ginger and Turmeric

Ginger, along with its cousin turmeric, must be harvested before first frost. Accordingly, every fall I end up with an abundance of both. In seeking new ways to use either one, I ran across a delicious recipe that incorporates both of them — amazing cauliflower pickles with ginger and turmeric.

Recipe Notes

I found the original recipe several years ago on a website called Craving Something Healthy. I wasn’t sure I’d like it, so for the first run I downsized the recipe to one-quarter of the original. That first batch disappeared fast, so now I double it.

We grow ginger, turmeric, and garlic in our garden. I wish I could say the same about cauliflower, but we don’t have much luck growing it here in Tennessee. I buy organic cauliflower from the local grocer. The recipe takes about a pound, or one-half of a medium-size cauliflower.

Both the ginger and turmeric are supposed to be cut into matchsticks. Some of the pieces I harvest are too small for that, so I cut them into thin rounds. The different shapes and sizes makes the presentation more interesting.

I wash, but don’t peel, the ginger or turmeric. If I had to buy it from the store, not knowing how much it’s been handled, I would peel it.

The garlic should be smashed, not crushed. For my first batch I crushed it, but had trouble removing it from the pickling solution without also losing the pepper flakes. Now I fold the garlic clove in wax paper and smash it with the flat side of a wooden kitchen mallet.

My husband and I both found the original recipe a tad too sweet. Therefore I reduced the sugar slightly from 1/2 cup to 1/3 cup, which makes it just right.

We serve these cauliflower pickles with ginger and turmeric at all our winter holiday meals. We also enjoy them with left-over turkey sandwiches or a plate of cold-cuts and cheese.

Amazing Cauliflower Pickles with Ginger and Turmeric

This scaled-down recipe makes one 3/4-quart (3 cup) canning jar of pickles. That’s just enough for a test to see if you like them as much as my (fussy) husband and I do. Doubling the recipe makes 3 one-pint jars.

Cool solution. Remove garlic.

In a large saucepan, cover vegetables with water, bring to a boil, immediately remove from the heat, and drain in a colander. Lay the vegetables on a clean towel and let them cool to room temperature.

Place the cooled vegetables in a ¾-quart jar, and cover with pickling solution. Refrigerate the pickles at least 3 days while the flavor develops. Store the pickles in the fridge for up to 6 weeks — if they last that long!