We have been stanning pickles for therefore lengthy now, we’re operating out of concepts for what else to do with them. The opposite day, I discovered myself within the dustiest nook of the web, on the lookout for a brand new means to make use of my leftover jars of pickles and olives. There are countless makes use of to your leftover pickle juice, together with salad dressing, sauces, martinis, marinades, and cheffy tips, like making gelées. I hate tossing out completely good pickle juice, and rice appeared like the appropriate clean canvas for absorbing all that briny taste. So, the place I finally landed was the extremely easy trick of including pickle juice and different brines to the cooking water for rice.
As questionable of an concept as it could appear, utilizing pickles in and on rice is not completely new. Southeast Indian dishes like recipe/Achari-Pulao.html” data-component=”hyperlink” data-source=”inlineLink” data-type=”externalLink” data-ordinal=”1″ rel=”nofollow”>Achari Pulao embody pickled greens or mango so as to add taste to the rice whereas it’s cooking, and naturally, pickled greens are a superb addition to rice bowls and kimbap, however the concept of utilizing leftover pickle brine as a cooking liquid for rice was new to me. So I gave the strategy a strive with the liquid from a jar of primary grocery retailer dill pickles, in addition to with olive, caper, and candy crimson pepper brine. Each condiment was suspended in a brine primarily composed of water, vinegar, and salt and there have been no lacto-fermented pickles in my assessments.
My Methodology
For every of the 4 assessments, I cooked a small batch of basmati rice utilizing my mini 2-cup rice cooker. For every check, I used 100g of rice, 50g of brine, and 100g of water for this check, however to do that at residence, simply make a typical pot of rice, changing the water with a 2:1, water-to-brine ratio. Initially, I thought of changing all of the water with brine, however I didn’t wish to danger making the rice overly salty.
Carry on the Brines
Critical Eats / Kelli Solomon
B&G Kosher Dill Pickle Spears
After I opened the jar of pickles, I used to be reminded of strolling right into a deli—these spears floating in yellow brine have the briny pickle scent and taste I grew up with. Given the sturdy scent of the pickles, I anticipated the rice to style extra vinegary, however itonly had a faint style of pickle and barely salty-sour aftertaste that I began to note after a number of bites. This was not my favourite rice—the bitter style was one-note, and lacked complexity.
Divina Natural Castelvetrano Olives
There are far too many varieties of olives to select from, so I simply chosen my favourite—Castelvetrano. The rice took on the gentle, buttery taste of the olives virtually as if the slightest little bit of olive oil or butter was added to the pot. I anticipated it to style like a unclean martini, however it was way more refined. This was the saltiest rice—not overly so, however noticeably. I loved it, and would eat this rice with delicately cooked white fish or shrimp.
Roland Capote Capers
After I opened the jar, these capers had such a briny aroma I believed it could utterly overpower the rice, however it didn’t. The caper-flavored rice tasted well-seasoned and never overly acidic or salty. As somebody who doesn’t normally go for capers, I used to be pleasantly shocked by this rice. I might serve it with baked salmon, add it to stuffed greens, or serve it with one other dish that wants a bit punch of vinegar.
Hellenic Farms Greek Roasted Crimson Peppers
There have been only some choices of peppers packed in a vinegar-based brine as an alternative of oil. I needed the brine to be corresponding to the opposite preserved condiments, so I chosen this jar of roasted crimson peppers. This rice was subtly candy and had a light pepper style to match its barely orange-tinged hue. After a number of bites, I might decide up on the charred taste from the roasting of the peppers, a welcome complexity. This rice is flexible sufficient to serve with all types of dishes, however it could pair significantly properly with roasted rooster or grilled steak.
Sure, Attempt This at Dwelling!
By the tip of this check, I had a lot pickle brine that I began to really feel pickled myself. Oddly, on this head-to-head pickled rice check, the rice utilizing dill pickle brine was really the worst. Maybe that was as a result of my selection of pickle. Possibly a garlicky brined pickle would result in a pot of tasty garlic rice? I loved the roasted pepper rice a lot that I plan so as to add it to my side-dish rotation. I could even punch it up additional with some bits of diced roasted pepper as properly. As I seemed on the half-eaten jars of pickled this or that at the back of my fridge, I eyed some banana peppers and artichokes. This experiment will completely be continued.