Crisp canned cauliflower?
 

I just canned some cauliflower and the flavor is very good but it's not very crisp. Any suggestions on making it come out crisp? Soak it in lime or alum for a couple days before canning??? Thanks!

I just dunk it to blanch it for a few seconds in boiling water and salt, then freeze it. I've never tried canning or bottling but think those methods will cook it too much hence it becoming soft. Same with broccoli.

cosmic

Hi Earl,
Have you tried soaking it in salt water overnight? I have not done cauliflower, but everything else I've pickled comes out crisper that way. I would think it would work on the cauliflower too.
Remy

If Earl is talking about pressure cooking I don’t think there is any way to make it come out crispy.
Freezing is the better option, but nothing beats fresh.
20 psi at 20 or 30 minutes is the required time I think. It has been years since the last time I have done it.

Pickling of course is a different story.

Worth

I'm talking about pickled cauliflower, Worth. Should have been more clear. I found some Ball Pickle Crisp {calcium chloride}[B][/B] that's supposed to make veggies crisp. I'll give it a try. Even without being very crisp, what I made was very good, and easy to make.

Pickle Crisp should do it for you Earl. Not quite so good as old-fashioned slaked lime but far FAR easier to lay hands on these days!

What recipe did you use? (My favorite pickle in the entire world is pickled cauliflower - the sweet/sour yellow kind.)

Same here, Granny. I mostly went by the Ball Blue Book recipe, using ground mustard because I didn't have any mustard seeds. If I'm not careful I can go through a pint in a NY second. :-)

Earl, when it comes to that pickled cauliflower and those little bitty pickled "cocktail" onions, if I open the jar, the jar is gone.

i've never pickled cauliflower...yet...but when i pickle cukes, i keep them chilled for 2 to 8 hours before i can them in the hot liquid. going from the extreme cold to extreme hot seems to keep them nice and crisp! might work for the cauliflower, maybe.