Turns out you really can pickle anything — including avocados! Avocado pickles are a delicious snack.
Plus, it’s a great solution for those times when you couldn’t find a perfectly ripe, last-minute avocado for taco night. The pickling process takes a firm, unripe avo and turns it tender and flavorful.
When you do a quick pickle, like this one, it relies on a burst of acidity to create a sort of “controlled decay” process, as Food and Wine described the process outlined by Bruno Xavier, a food processing expert at Cornell University.
That’s why firm avocados are vastly preferred for pickling. Use an avocado that’s too soft, and the texture might get a little too squishy-slimy.
Another fun thing about pickling avocados: You get to play with your favorite flavors. While the pickle is the point — and this recipe from The Kitchn has a couple of basic spices built in — you can also fine-tune your pickling liquid to best suit your tastes.
Begin the process by mixing vinegar (either rice wine or distilled white), with water, sugar, salt, whole peppercorns and red pepper flakes in a medium saucepan.
This is also the part where you can add in any other flavors you fancy, like garlic, cumin, or an herb you enjoy (maybe some cilantro?).
Bring the liquid to a boil, and be sure to give it a few stirs to dissolve the sugar and salt. Take the pan off the heat and let it cool to room temp.
While the pickling liquid cools, prepare the avocados. How you cut them is up to you, but The Kitchn recommends either cubes or lengthwise slices.
Load the prepared avocados into two separate canning jars. Pour the cooled pickling solution over the avocados, close the jars and pop ‘em in the fridge.
Two hours later: avocado pickles! Perfect for all of your taco, breakfast, rice bowl and snacking needs.
Click here to read the full recipe from Kitchn.
This story originally appeared on Simplemost. Checkout Simplemost for additional stories.
