SC - SC Pickels

[Philip W. Troy]

James L. Matterer wrote:
> 
> Well, I've been making pickled dishes an integral part of every feast
> I've done for the past several years. The most popular seems to be
> English-style pickled eggs (which I usually make as part of a
> Ploughman's Lunch, with pickled onions, bread, & cheese), but one of my
> favorites is a dish called "Compost" which contains raisins, pears,
> cabbage, walnuts, mustard seeds, anise seeds, white radishes... all
> pickled together in white wine and honey. Here's the original recipe
> with
> my redaction:

<Original recipe snipped for space>

I've loved this dish for several years. I'm interested in your mention
of walnuts above. The source you cite doesn't mention them, but the
recipe in Le Menagier for a similar dish does mention green, immature
nuts, probably walnuts although no specific type is mentioned. I've
tried this with immature almonds, which I can get at Middle Eastern
markets near me about once a year. When cooked they resemble those large
"Italian" string beans. 

>    The following is a modified (but just as tasty) version of the
> medieval recipe, containing only the "pasternak" (carrots- from the
> botanical "pastinaca"), "caboches" (cabbage), "peeres" (pears) and
> "raisons of courace" (currants). The other medieval ingredients are
> "rote of persel" (parsley root), "rafens" (radishes), and "rapes" (white
> turnip).
> 
> 2 lbs. carrots, sliced
> 1/2 head cabbage, in small pieces
> 3-4 pears, sliced thin
> 1 tsp. salt
> 6 tblsp. vinegar
> 2 tsp. ginger
> few threads saffron
> 1 bottle (750 ml.) white wine
> 1/2 c. honey
> 1 tblsp. mustard seed
> 3/4 c. currants
> 1 tsp. cinnamon
> 1/2 tblsp. each anise seed & fennel seed
> 
>    Boil the carrots and cabbage for several minutes, then add the pears.
> Cook until tender; drain well. Lay vegetables and pears in a large,
> flat, non-metallic dish. Sprinkle on the salt. Let cool, then sprinkle
> on the vinegar, ginger, and saffron. Cover with a cloth and let stand
> for several hours or overnight. When ready, mix the vegetables with the
> currants and the seeds. Place in a sealable container and set aside. In
> a separate pot, bring the honey, cinnamon, and wine to a boil, skimming
> off the scum until clear. Remove from heat and pour over the vegetable
> mixture. Let cool and seal. May be stored for a week or more. Serves 12
> - 15.

Pretty similar to what I make. One trick I've been using is to put the
mixture into sterile canning jars. You could argue that this defeats the
period purpose of pickling, but it does prolong the shelf life by quite
a bit, and any unopened jars can actually be saved for the next time you
might want them (including another event, if you're of a mind).
Actually, if sealed jars are refrigerated, the compost will keep for
upwards of a year with no serious diminution of quality.

This is a wonderful Pennsic food and is especially good with cold meats
or sausage. 

Adamantius