3 ms·

Guess what I do: wash and slice up some peppers, stick them tightly in a jar, and fill with vinegar so that no air bubbles are left. Not quite a sauce, but it

Guess what I do: wash and slice up some peppers, stick them tightly in a jar, and fill with vinegar so that no air bubbles are left. Not quite a sauce, but it works for me. Stores for months in a fridge. Communist Romanian recipe.

andybak 4y ago
How does that not just store forever? I thought that was the point of pickling.
- krageon 4y ago
  With stuff like this it depends on how you use it (f.e. it's possible they use it up over a few months, or that after that time there is not enough liquid left to cover the vegetable mass)
- oasisbob 4y ago
  Among other problems, Botulism takes all the fun out of traditional pickling recipes.
  - catchclose8919 4y ago
    eh, if it's salty + sour it's probably ok ;) nothing acidic enough is hospitable for botulism, afaik most traditional pickling recipes involve quite high acidity from high levels of lactic acid induced fermentation... and in general, whatever bacteria can grow in a medum rich enough in salt + whatever acid (lactic if you're fermenting, citric or acetic otherwise) is probably not gonna hurt you too bad (salmonella and all the nasty stuff require protein + mostly towards neutral or alcaline environment). sure, if you're into pickled eggs or weird stuff like that, watch out, but any sour pickled vegetables are safe and even if they go off will not make you seriously ill, they'll just start tasting like s and mess your stomach a tid bit.
  - msandford 4y ago
    Botulism is inhibited by acidity. Get the ph low enough, I want to say 4.6 or so, and it just can't live or grow. In grocery stores here in the US I can buy pickling vinegar which is 9% acetic acid versus 5% for the normal stuff. Regular old 5% vinegar is around 2.5ph.
- code_duck 4y ago
  That isn’t “real” pickling. It’s a technique called refrigerator pickles. Longer shelf life techniques involve higher acidity and either fermentation or heating.
- danuker 4y ago
  It's not sterilized. There could be germs inside the peppers where there's just water, not vinegar.
arprocter 4y ago
That sounds similar to Puerto Rican pique Supposedly you can just top up the vinegar once it starts to get low https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pique_sauce https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pique_sauce

andybak 4y ago

How does that not just store forever? I thought that was the point of pickling.

krageon 4y ago
With stuff like this it depends on how you use it (f.e. it's possible they use it up over a few months, or that after that time there is not enough liquid left to cover the vegetable mass)
oasisbob 4y ago
Among other problems, Botulism takes all the fun out of traditional pickling recipes.
- catchclose8919 4y ago
  eh, if it's salty + sour it's probably ok ;) nothing acidic enough is hospitable for botulism, afaik most traditional pickling recipes involve quite high acidity from high levels of lactic acid induced fermentation... and in general, whatever bacteria can grow in a medum rich enough in salt + whatever acid (lactic if you're fermenting, citric or acetic otherwise) is probably not gonna hurt you too bad (salmonella and all the nasty stuff require protein + mostly towards neutral or alcaline environment). sure, if you're into pickled eggs or weird stuff like that, watch out, but any sour pickled vegetables are safe and even if they go off will not make you seriously ill, they'll just start tasting like s and mess your stomach a tid bit.
- msandford 4y ago
  Botulism is inhibited by acidity. Get the ph low enough, I want to say 4.6 or so, and it just can't live or grow. In grocery stores here in the US I can buy pickling vinegar which is 9% acetic acid versus 5% for the normal stuff. Regular old 5% vinegar is around 2.5ph.
code_duck 4y ago
That isn’t “real” pickling. It’s a technique called refrigerator pickles. Longer shelf life techniques involve higher acidity and either fermentation or heating.
danuker 4y ago
It's not sterilized. There could be germs inside the peppers where there's just water, not vinegar.

arprocter 4y ago

That sounds similar to Puerto Rican pique Supposedly you can just top up the vinegar once it starts to get low https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pique_sauce https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pique_sauce