Elizabethan Pickled Mushrooms

Pickled Mushrooms is a traditional Elizabethan recipe for mushrooms pickled in salted vinegar. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Elizabethan version of Pickled Mushrooms.

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

10 minutes

Total Time:

30 minutes

Additional Time:

(+4 days maturing)

Makes:

1 large jar

Rating:

Tags : British Recipes

Original Recipe

Pickled Mushrooms (The Whole Body of Cookery Dissected)

Take a bushel of mushrooms, blanch them over the crown, barm them beneath; if they are new, they look read as a Cherry; if old, black; this being done, throw them into a pan oif boyling water, then take them forth and let them drain; when they are cold, put them up into your Pot or Glass, put thereto Cloves, Mace, Ginger, Nutmeggs, whole Pepper; Then take white wine, a little Vinegar, with a llittle quantity of salt, so pour the Liquor into your Mushrooms, and stop them close for your use all the year.

Modern Redaction

Ingredients:

230g mushrooms (chestnut or chanterelle would be good but ordinary closed cup mushrooms will work). These should be about 3cm in diameter
480ml water
1 tsp salt
1 tsp peppercorns
2 cloves
1 large sliver mace
1 thin slice of fresh root ginger
½ nutmeg sliced into fragments
180ml white wine
1 tbsp vinegar

Method:

Wash the mushrooms with a damp cloth (do not wash under running water as they will absorb the liquid and won't pickle properly). Slice off the stems within 1 cm of the cap. Add he water to a saucepan, add half the salt and the mushrooms and bring to the boil. Once they have started to boil drain the mushrooms immediately and place in a large screw-top jar. Add the spices, the remainder of the salt then pour the wine and the vinegar over the top. (If there is insufficient liquid top-up with more white wine vinegar.)

Cover the jar with a ring of plastic to protect the cap from corrosion, invert the jar several times to make sure that the spices are evenly distributed in the pickling liquid then store in a cool place for 3 to 4 days before serving.