We have been stanning pickles for thus lengthy now, we’re working 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 infinite makes use of on 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 fitting clean canvas for absorbing all that briny taste. So, the place I in the end 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 fully new. Southeast Indian dishes like Achari Pulao embrace pickled greens or mango so as to add taste to the rice whereas it’s cooking, and naturally, pickled greens are a wonderful 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 attempt with the liquid from a jar of fundamental 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 exams.

My Methodology

For every of the 4 exams, I cooked a small batch of basmati rice utilizing my mini 2-cup rice cooker. For every take a look at, I used 100g of rice, 50g of brine, and 100g of water for this take a look at, however to do this at residence, simply make a customary pot of rice, changing the water with a 2:1, water-to-brine ratio. Initially, I considered changing all of the water with brine, however I didn’t need to threat making the rice overly salty.

Carry on the Brines

B&G Kosher Dill Pickle Spears

Once 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 robust 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 couple 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 sorts 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 grimy martini, nevertheless it was way more delicate. 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 

Once I opened the jar, these capers had such a briny aroma I assumed it could utterly overpower the rice, nevertheless it didn’t. The caper-flavored rice tasted well-seasoned and never overly acidic or salty. As somebody who doesn’t often go for capers, I used to be pleasantly shocked by this rice. I’d serve it with baked salmon, add it to stuffed greens, or serve it with one other dish that wants a bit of punch of vinegar.

Hellenic Farms Greek Roasted Purple Peppers

There have been just a few 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 couple of bites, I might choose up on the charred taste from the roasting of the peppers, a welcome complexity. This rice is flexible sufficient to serve with all kinds of dishes, however it could pair significantly effectively with roasted hen or grilled steak.

Sure, Attempt This at House!

By the tip of this take a look at, I had a lot pickle brine that I began to really feel pickled myself. Oddly, on this head-to-head pickled rice take a look at, the rice utilizing dill pickle brine was truly 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’ll even punch it up additional with some bits of diced roasted pepper as effectively. 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.

March 2024