Pickled Asparagus, 1847

It's been a summer of pickling and making preserves. Back in June I put up three pints of pickled asparagus, based on the 1847 recipe in The Whole Art of Curing, Pickling, and Salting Meat and Fish. I also consulted a modern recipe to ensure that I was meeting safe levels of acidity and determine appropriate processing times.

The two jars of pickles not already eaten.

The big surprise was how little asparagus actually fits into each jars. Even after breaking off the tough portions, I ended up trimming most of the edible stem off each asparagus piece to get a spear short enough to fit in the pint jars. I am now less surprised at 10 lbs being needed to get 6 pints worth of pickled asparagus tips. The 2 pounds of asparagus I had nicely filled one jar with asparagus tips; a second was mostly filled with tips but needed to be supplemented with some of the extra stems to pack fully. 

I used the remaining stems in a third jar, which I opened and used over July 4. Despite being all-vinegar, I actually found these more mellow than most other period pickles I've tried. The mace/nutmeg/cloves flavor combination worked very nicely; I had been slightly concerned about those spices' association with sweetness conflicting with the asparagus. I'd like to try the modern receipt in full next year (garlic and dill is a classic for a reason), but I think this historic flavor profile is also a winner.