Kelp Pickle Recipe

Gabriola Island poet extraordinaire Naomi Wakan forwarded the following recipe for bull kelp pickles. I'm looking forward to trying them. The recipe is from the following website.

Just a slight caution first... only use bull kelp that has washed ashore, never harvest live ones.

Kelp Pickles

Pickling brine for kelp

2  cups white vinegar  

2/3 cup water  

1  cup granulated sugar  

4  tablespoons  pickling spices  

Pickles

1    long firm fresh bull kelp  

1  large onion, thinly sliced  

1   garlic clove, minced (1 clove per jar)  

1  teaspoon lemon juice (1 tsp. per jar)  

Directions:

1 Go beach combing locally (hopefully you’re in an area without lots of water pollution, as I wouldn’t use kelp from a polluted area – check with local authorities to find out, first) and find a freshly-beached bull kelp, making sure it’s firm and fresh. Get 1 or 2 glass jars with lids and make sure they’re well washed.

2 Cut off the hollow portion of the kelp (discarding the bulb) and wash it well in fresh water, making sure to remove any/all sand and detritus.

3 Cut it into 1/2-inch rings and rinse in fresh water again, draining it in a colander.

4 Combine the brine ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Let boil for one minute, then remove from heat.

5 Place the kelp rings into glass jars and add slices of onion, a minced clove of garlic, and 1 teaspoon of lemon juice per jar.

6 Add the hot brine to the jar(s) then refrigerate for at least 48 hours before serving.