Adyghe-style pickled pumpkin, a simple recipe with photos

Pickled pumpkin is rich in vitamins, just like fresh pumpkin. After all, it is practically not subjected to heat treatment, which allows it to preserve vitamins. Pickled pumpkin can be eaten as a salad, or used as a filling for pancakes or pies. And if you come across a bright orange pumpkin, it can be a wonderful decoration and addition to a meat dish.

For pickling, you can take a pumpkin of any color, as long as it is mature and not limp. Wash the pumpkin, peel it, remove seeds and cut it into cubes. Do not chop too much so that the pieces can be pricked with a fork rather than scooped out with a spoon.

Boil water in a saucepan and add pumpkin pieces to the boiling water. They need to be blanched for about 3 minutes, but no more, otherwise the pumpkin will cook and you will get pumpkin puree. It is, of course, also very tasty and healthy, but it is better to prepare it on purpose and not by accident.

After this, place the pumpkin in a colander and quickly pour cold water over it. Leave the pumpkin in a colander to drain and cool slightly.

The water in which the pumpkin was blanched can be used to prepare the brine.

For 1 liter of water you need:

• 2 tbsp. l. salt;
• 1 tsp. ground red pepper;
• Bay leaf;
• peppercorns.

You can also use chili pepper, cloves, cardamom, mustard seeds, or parsley. Add the spices you usually use to ferment vegetables.

Boil the brine, dilute salt in it, add spices and turn off the heat. Cover the pan with a lid to allow the spices to steam thoroughly.

Place the pumpkin pieces in a saucepan or place in jars. Pour the pumpkin with brine, which has cooled to room temperature.

Cover the container with the pumpkin with a lid, but do not seal it tightly. For fermentation, air circulation is needed so that the pumpkin does not “suffocate.” Leave the pumpkin at room temperature for 3-4 minutes, after which you should move the pumpkin to a cooler place to slow down fermentation. After another two weeks, you can take the jar out of the refrigerator and try the wonderful Adyghe-style pickled pumpkin.

Watch the video on how to prepare pickled pumpkin for the winter and prepare jars: