Recipes

‘Branston’ pickle

Branston pickle was first made by Crosse and Blackwell in Branston in 1922. It was supposed to have been made from a local family recipe. In previous years I have grown all of the ingredients (apart from the dates and the lemon obviously!) to make my own ‘Branston’ pickle using the following recipe. I thought it would be fun to make a genuine Branston pickle in Branston.

Ingredients:

• 1 medium carrot, cut into 1cm cubes
• 1 cup swede, cut into 1cm cubes
• 6 dates, pitted and cut into 1cm cubes
• 3 cauliflower florets, finely chopped
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 medium desert apple, finely chopped
• 1 medium courgette, finely chopped
• 5 gherkins, finely chopped
• 300 grammes dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup cider vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Juice of 1 lemon
• gravy browning to colour
• Bouquet Garni – cinnamon stick, bay leaf, cloves and peppercorns tied in a muslin bag (I use a piece of clean jay cloth).

Directions:

Combine all of the ingredients except gravy browning in a large saucepan. It’s better to have too big a pan than too little. Bring the mixture to the boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until swede and carrot are cooked but still slightly crunchy. Remove the bouquet garni and add enough gravy browning until the colour is a rich dark brown. Allow to cool slightly and bottle in sterilised jars. The flavour will improve if aged for a few weeks before use. The vegetable can be chopped more finely for a sandwich type pickle, or blended with a stick blender to produce a brown sauce