This was in the June 2013 issue of Food Network Magazine. I did things differently than they called for but, the picture in the magazine gave me the idea and inspiration for this.
I can my own salsa, pickles and barbecue sauce along with a few other things. I love a good giardiniera mix but, find myself picking all the cauliflower out to eat that first. So, when I seen this in the magazine I just had to make it. Well, kind of 😉 I made it more along the lines of my pickle recipe though.
It’s perfect for summer time snacking and is healthy too….bonus! It’s also easy on the pocket book and gets better by the day. If you like pickled things, you’re going to enjoy this one 🙂
Pickled Cauliflower and Onions
1/2 head cauliflower, cut into bite-size florets
1 small vidalia onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
3/4 c. red wine vinegar
3/4 c. distilled white vinegar
3/4 c. water
2 T. sugar
kosher salt
1/2 t. ground coriander seeds
splash of lemon juice
1/8 t. alum
1/2 t. crushed red pepper
1/2 t. dill seed
1/8 t. dill weed
1/2 t. whole mustard seed
Add garlic, coriander seeds, crushed red pepper, dill seed, dill weed and whole mustard seeds to a quart sized mason jar.
Layer the onions and cauliflower into the jar next, leaving a half inch at the top of the jar.
Make the brine: Combine the red wine vinegar, vinegar, water, sugar, salt, lemon juice and alum in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat.
Pour hot brine over the cauliflower and onions. Leaving a half inch head room at the top of the jar.
Cool for 45 minutes. Put the lid and ring on the mason jar and refrigerate. It will self seal overnight. Before storing in the fridge I mix the jar up a bit too.
You can eat them the next day but, I like to leave them for at least a week, so they soak up more flavor. Enjoy!
I took some of the pickled onions and put them in my tossed salad…very good and added a nice kick to it.
Yields: 1 quart
Have a great week y’all!
twodogsinthekitchen 
Sounds great, I love pickled cauliflower. Your photo’s are great too! I have to become more adept at preserving. i have a completely unfounded fear of it. You inspired me.
This is simple compared to all the baking you do! You could do this with your eyes closed 🙂
I have never thought of pickling the cauliflowers…that’s an excellent idea, Suzie.
Yum, yum, yummmmmmy! Gonna have to get a few mason jars and give this a try (I wrecked what few jars I had painting them lol!) Love the gardenia mix but it’s gotten so damn expensive I only buy it as a treat now and then – this is a great alternative, thank you!
I love that mix too and I always pick out the cauliflower (my fav) to eat, this way I have a whole jar that I like!
Yum! I never would’ve thought to pickle cauliflower! Fun test: do you pronounce it “caul-ee-flower” or “caul-ih-flower”?
We say it the 2nd way, now I want to know how you say it? 😀
I think I pronounce it the first way but now I’m doubting myself. Maybe I change it up depending on my mood 🙂
Lol!!!
I’m so on board with this, Suzie! I’ve been wanting to pickle everything lately (probably the Korean AND Southern sides screaming to get out, lol). I love the spices you used here and hope YOU have a great weekend, too!!! love you! =)
I love pickled anything-this sounds great!!!
Ever tried green beans or is it not your thing?
Haven’t tried them myself, but I would 🙂
I do the same thing with those pickle mixes. What does the alum do?
Alum helps keep the crunch in things, I use it when making pickles too 🙂
Good to know. Thx!
totally intrigued by this! i really want to learn how to can. 🙂 one day….
I have to admit, I’ve never had pickled cauliflower…but I’m SO intrigued. Especially after reading through the spices you put to work in your recipe. Definitely going to have to try this one!
This sounds amazing. I love cauliflower, but have never had it pickled, definitely add it to my grocery list. And I really need to subscribe to food network magazine.
Sam, I’m sad to say that I won’t be getting anymore issues. Being on unemployment I couldn’t justify the money to renew my subscription. I love the magazine and once I’m back to work I will surely get it again. For now though, I’m cutting corners 🙂
I understand that! After the divorce I had to cut out all of the extras (especially all of my books on my kindle). Magazines are one of the things I cut out, I used to subscribe to so many.
Yep, we do what we have to do! Try this place for free kindle books. I use it and find good free books quite a bit. If I don’t like it, it’s easy enough to delete 🙂 http://blog.booksontheknob.org
Pickled Cauliflower is something I have to say, I have never had. I’ll have to give this a try. Your recipes are always so tasty!
Thank you!!
I love pickled veggies and this looks so good – definitely something I will bookmark to try later this summer!
I’ve yet to meet a pickle I didn’t like! These sound fabulous!
I could probably eat the whole jar in one sitting 🙂
Hmmm. I love cauliflower and I love crisp kosher dill pickles. I didn’t even know that there was such a thing as pickled cauliflower. The idea is growing on me as I think about it. My sister,in SC, does a lot of canning and pickling of her homegrown produce. Maybe I can convince her to make some of this for me to try. 🙂
You can pretty much pickle anything. I love canning, this method is so easy compared to the old style of canning. No boiling jars, etc. I’m doing jalapeños next and I found a copycat recipe for Claussen pickles, I can’t wait to try that…those are my favorite pickles to buy!
It’s funny because I usually pick out the cauliflower and carrots in a hot giardiniera mix too! I am looking away from the onions though! I actually plan on making pickled jalapenos this week as well as pepper vinegar – my grandpa used to love his pepper vinegar!
Oh yes, you can totally leave out the onions…lol!! I’m doing the pickled jalapeños this week too 🙂 I want to use them on pizza and salads. I’ve never heard of pepper vinegar, I hope you’ll be posting that one!
I just read that issue and wanted to make this! I love pickled cauliflower so much. I am all about the easy canning method too.
Never had pickled cauliflower before, tempting to try!
Sounds absolutely wonderful. The deli mixes at the store are my weakness.
Can’t wait to try this. How long will the jars keep? Can I store it/them in the pantry?
Thank you thank you
Jeanne
Hi Jeanne, the giardiniera at the store was my weakness too, that is why I needed to make my own 🙂 Since they self seal in the fridge I imagine they would last as long as store bought. Since we tend to eat the jars within a week after opening I don’t have to worry about it! I haven’t stored them in the pantry, only in the fridge. Once sealed though I don’t see why they couldn’t be stored that way. I would just let them sit on the counter overnight to seal. Any that don’t seal I would eat within the week, at least that’s the rule I have read. Hope this helps!! Also, I just made this a different way recently. I replaced the red wine vinegar with white wine vinegar. I liked it even better and you don’t get the pinkish hue 🙂
When my kids were little, I would buy the mixed pickles. Lo and behold I discovered my kids and I had a battle to see who got the cauliflower and the button onions first. As they grew and I began canning, I made my own cauliflower and onions. Now we had jars to all enjoy! So yummy. I use a bread and butter recipe for the liquid.