I love the salty, spiced flavor of this Curry Pickled Cauliflower. It makes a great topping for salads and sandwiches, but I really love snacking on it right out of the jar. The spice blend includes a nice dose of turmeric, giving the pickles a beautiful golden color. Turmeric also has tons of great health benefits. The curcumin in turmeric, which supplies the golden yellow color, has significant anti-inflammatory properties that rival those found in ibuprofen. Unlike over-the-counter drugs, curcumin has no toxic effects. In addition, curcumin’s powerful antioxidant advantages have been shown to protect healthy cells, particularly those found in the colon, from cancer-causing agents. It can aid the body in destroying mutated cancer cells before they have a chance to spread to other areas. Pretty amazing, right? As if that weren’t enough, turmeric also helps to lower cholesterol and prevent heart disease.
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Curry Pickled Cauliflower
Ingredients
Brine
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup vinegar
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 3 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
Pickle
- 3 pounds head of cauliflower
- 1 3/4 teaspoons kosher salt
- 6 green cardamom pods
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
- 3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional - adds spice)
- 3/4 teaspoon turmeric
NOTES
Instructions
- To make brine: Combine water, vinegar, sugar and salt in a saucepot and simmer over low heat, stirring often, until the salt and sugar have dissolved. Remove from heat and set aside. Let it return to room temperature.
- Meanwhile, wash and trim the cauliflower and break the florets into bite-size pieces.
- Toss cauliflower with 1 ¾ tsp kosher salt and allow to sit for about 30 minutes, then rinse. This will draw out excess moisture from inside the cauliflower, allowing it to absorb the pickling brine and spices better.
- Evenly distribute the cardamom pods, bay leaves, curry powder, crushed red pepper and turmeric between the pint jars (1/3 of the ingredient amount listed in each jar).
- Distribute the cauliflower between the jars and press down with tongs to make sure everything is tightly packed.
- The brine should be room temperature by now- if it isn't, wait till it cools off before proceeding. Using a wide mouth funnel, cover the cauliflower with the brine, leaving about ½ inch of headspace in each jar.
- Clean the rims of the jars with a damp paper towel or clean kitchen towel.
- At this point, to make refrigerator pickles, you can put lids on the jars, shake them to disperse the spices, and place directly into the refrigerator. They will be ready to eat in 1 week (you can taste them after 2-3 days, but flavor will be best after a full week). The pickles should last for about 4 weeks. Always check and smell for spoilage before eating to be safe.If you prefer to can the cauliflower for longer shelf life, place the lids on the jars and seal with the bands using just your fingertips so that they are secure but not too tight. Process for 10 minutes using the boiling water method - click here for details.
- As soon as the timer goes off, quickly and carefully remove the jars using the jar lifter. Place them on the clean towels and allow to cool for 24 hours. After 24 hours you can remove the bands and test your seals by lifting the jar, by the lid, a few inches from the counter top. Jars with good seals can be kept in a cool dark place for up to a year. If the seal is broken, store in the refrigerator and use within 2 weeks. Canned pickles will be ready to eat 2-3 days after canning them.
Nutrition
This look so good, can I use cardamom powder in place of pods? Tia
I love these! I have been making them with kolhrabi (they are local, organic and cheaper in my region) instead of cauliflower and they do not disappoint! They are quite salty and flavourful for a milder palate but they are a hit for us! 🙂
I made these and found all I tasted was vinegar and salt with a little curry flavour. I followed the recipe exactly.
Sorry it wasn’t to your liking. Considering it’s a vinegar pickle recipe with salt and curry, I’m surprised you found that flavor profile unsatisfactory. We think they’re delicious. 🙂 If the curry flavor wasn’t strong enough, feel free to add more of the spice blend.
I can’t believe this is my first time coming across curry pickled cauliflower! I’ve been trying tons of pickling recipes and curry is my favorite. I’m making this tonight, so excited. Thanks for the recipe!!
Tori, I bought some of this on a whim at an olive bar at a grocery store. My mom and I were having a mother-daughter cheese party, what! We had a blast. This cauliflower was so amazingly delicious, I just HAD to find a recipe for it. Just my luck, my favorite blogger’s recipe is the first to pop up on a Google search, so I shall search no longer. (Seriously, your roasted beets are in my oven right now–as they are every couple of weeks).
(Probably) your biggest fan,
Monique
New Orleans, LA
Love it Monique! Now I want to host a mother-daughter cheese party, thanks for the brilliant idea!
These pickles are amazing! I love that they keep their crunch so well. I make these for my boss which gives me major brownie points–he loves them! 😉
One thing about pickling recipes it that they always seem to have lots of sugar. Can’t find one without.
Recipe seemed off. How do 3 pounds of cauliflower fit into 3 pints? Maybe 3 quarts which is about what I got when I followed this recipe. Also they came out way too salty. It’s strange because I love salty pickles but these were just too much. I ended up having to drain them all and soak them in water and then repickle them in a different brineing solution and then they were quite good
Aaron – it is a 3 pound cauliflower head, trimmed and cut, not 3 pounds of florets– maybe that is why you ended up with more? It is a slightly salty pickle, but other readers have really enjoyed the flavor… wondering if you skipped the rinsing step after salting the cauliflower? At any rate, I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy the recipe. Better luck next time!
I’ve been using this (your) recipe for a couple of years now. It is a family favorite and never lasts a long time. I usually can 12 pints at a time twice for 24 total and they’ll all be gone in a couple of months. Great recipe, love it!
I am making this tomorrow but I have one question will the cauliflower be sweet ? I do no want it too hot and spicy can I omit the crushed red pepper and add regular red peppers for color
This is not a sweet pickle, and yes you can omit the crushed red pepper if you don’t want spice. Not sure how the color will change on fresh red bells, combined with the yellow curry, but you can certainly try it. They might look more orange after pickling.
I have made these before when i knew i would not eat the whole head myself. This recipe is FABULOUS! I am making it again (doubling the recipe) and bring a large jar for Easter Brunch! I can’t wait until they are ready.
Can’t wait to try this recipe
i am not taking sugar , can i subtitut it with stevia?
I was going to ask the same question but Mt. Olive uses it in their bread and butter pickles without sugar so I think it would be ok. I am going to give it a try.
Sugar is important to prevent spoilage and keep the pickles safe to eat, never reduce the sugar in canning.
I believe there is enough vinegar in this recipe to reduce/sub stevia for the sugar. I respectively disagree with the statement above. There MANY pickle recipes in the blue ball book that have no sugar in them and they are perfectly safe. This is no different.
I made these to sell at our local Farmer’s Market and they were a hit. I love the Cardamom flavor and they do get better with time.
So happy to hear that Bobbi! I really adore this recipe 🙂
Bobbi- did you process yours?
I made a batch this morning and, in spite of the fact that I crammed as much cauliflower into each jar as I could physically get in there, after processing, the jars are only 1/2- 2/3 full of it. I had hoped to sell some at our farmer’s market, but don’t think they will be very appealing as they are.
Tips would be much appreciated!
What type of vinegar is suggested?. I want to add more peppers. My goal is to taste the heat of peppers and less of vinegar.
You could try using rice wine vinegar, which is a slightly milder flavor.
If you are going to can this you need vinegar that is 5%. Rice wine vinegar would be a milder flavor but would have to be kept in the fridge.