Brines

Condiments. I love condiments. Mainly, anything pickled or preserved in a brine of any sort. Pickles, olives, capers, sauerkraut, cornichons, antipasto – I could go on. I think it may be my Eastern European side. My point is, that when you store food in jars with vinegar, oil, and aromatics, wonderful things happen. Many of us often think to just pour the remaining liquid down the drain, or sometimes the empty jar just gets lost in the Narnia part of the fridge for a few months until the annual fridge cleaning occurs. If you’re a cocktail drinker or salad addict like myself, I’m sure you’ll appreciate this post. What I often do when I have brines left over is pour them in a cocktail! Dirty martinis, Bloody Marys, and Caesars are my absolute favourite. I find that a splash of pickle juice, olive juice, or caper juice always brightens up these savoury classics. Another great idea is to add a splash of brine to your salad, and thin it out with a little bit of extra virgin olive oil and some lemon juice. Start off with a little bit of course, don’t over dress it so that it’s soggy, and add some salt and cracked pepper to taste. A friend of mine actually adds pickle juice to her pasta salad. I could never quite put my finger on it, until I forced her to divulge her secret. It definitely adds a kick to a simple picnic salad; I dare you to give it a try! Check out this article in Bon Appétit magazine on unique ways of using pickle juice – who would have thought?