ACTIVITIES

RANGERS Quickle pickle Skills For My Future What you’ll need: 1 What foods have you eaten today? Per batch of pickle: What was fresh and what was preserved? • About a quarter of a cucumber Preserved means that it will be edible much 45 minutes • Other vegetables to pickle (optional) longer than fresh food. Archaeologists even • Rice vinegar or pickling vinegar, 6 tbsp found jam from Ancient Egypt that you • Sugar, 1 tbsp could still eat on your toast now! Jump • Salt, pinch straight in • Soy sauce, dash 2 Look at the preserving foods list. Can you • Spices (optional) name a food that is preserved using each of • Coriander (optional) the methods? Have you tried any of these • Rice cakes (or something to serve methods before? the pickle on) • Sharp knives 3 It’s time to have a go at preserving Knife safety • Measuring spoons your own food. You’re going to test out • When cutting, • Spoon a method that has been around since direct the knife • Bowl 2300BC – pickling. Follow the recipe away from you. • Preserved foods to try (optional – below to create a quick pickle. You can • Always use see the list of methods for preserving create one each, or split into groups. a cutting or for inspiration) chopping board. Recipe • Hold on firmly to Note to leader Scrape out the middle of the cucumber with what you’re cutting. Check girls’ allergies and dietary a spoon then slice it thinly. If you’re using • Make sure your requirements and plan accordingly. other vegetables too, make sure they’re fingers are away cut finely. In your bowl, mix 3-6 tbsp of rice from the blade. Aim of activity vinegar with 1 tbsp of sugar, a pinch of salt • If you drop the Salted, cured, dried, pickled… How would and a dash of soy sauce. You can add extra knife, don’t try to you choose to preserve your food? Discover spices to adjust the flavour of your pickling catch it. Step back more about the centuries-old process of liquid. Toss your vegetables in with the and pick it up once pickling ingredients, and learn a new liquid. You can add some chopped coriander it has landed. skill as you give it a go yourself. at this point, if you like. Stir well, making sure all the vegetables are covered in the Preserving foods liquid. Leave these to rest in the bowl for Some of the most at least 15 minutes. popular methods for preserving are: 4 It’s time to taste your 1. Pickling creation. Try a small amount 2. Freezing on a rice cake. What do you 3. Jellying think? Is it tasty? Try someone 4. Salting else’s to see how it compares, 5. Smoking then think about what 6. Canning ingredients you would 7. Fermentation change or add in future. 8. Boiling

Take it further If you want to store your pickle for a long time, you’ll need sterilised jars. Why not make a more complicated pickle at home and bring it in for

everyone to try? Illustrations: Kasia Serafin