Piccalilli catches the moment in late summer when the cauliflower, beans and courgettes are all cropping at once. The vegetables are salted for a day, then stirred through a thick, bright yellow sauce of mustard, turmeric and vinegar. This is a fridge pickle: make a small batch, keep it chilled and eat it within 10 days.
- Makes
- about 2 x 370ml jars (half batch); about 4 x 370ml jars (full batch)
- Keeps
- in the fridge from the day it is made; eat within 10 days of making, opened or not
- In season
- August and September
Ingredients
- 500g prepared mixed vegetables, in small bite-sized pieces
- 25g fine sea salt
- 12.5g cornflour
- 5g English mustard powder
- 5g ground turmeric
- 7.5g yellow mustard seeds
- ½ tsp cumin seeds, lightly crushed
- ½ tsp coriander seeds, lightly crushed
- ¼ tsp celery seeds
- a few grinds black pepper
- 25ml water
- 250ml cider vinegar or white wine vinegar (at least 5% acidity)
- 50g granulated sugar
- 25g honey
These quantities fill about two jars; for four, double everything, keeping the vinegar, sugar and cornflour in exactly these proportions.
Method
- Cut the vegetables into small, even, bite-sized pieces.
- Toss them with the salt in a bowl, cover and leave in a cool place for 24 hours.
- Rinse the vegetables well in ice-cold water and leave them to drain thoroughly.
- Sterilise your jars and lids (see the sterilising guide).
- Blend the cornflour, turmeric, mustard powder, mustard seeds, cumin, coriander, celery seeds and pepper to a paste with the water.
- Heat the vinegar, sugar and honey gently in a pan, stirring until the sugar has dissolved.
- Add the spice paste slowly, stirring well.
- Bring to a simmer and cook for 3–4 minutes, stirring often.
- Add the drained vegetables and bring back to a simmer for a couple of minutes.
- Fill the hot jars to the brim, tapping them gently to release any air pockets.
- Put new lids on straight away, while the piccalilli is still hot.
- Once cool, label each jar with the date and put it in the fridge.
Which piccalilli this is
This is British piccalilli: crisp pieces of vegetable in a thickened sauce of mustard, turmeric and vinegar. It is a vinegar pickle, not a fermented one.
The tested US piccalilli from the National Center for Home Food Preservation is a different preserve. That one is a chopped green tomato and cabbage relish, boiled down by half, with no mustard sauce. For a relish that keeps in the cupboard, make the end-of-season relish instead.
Why it lives in the fridge
Cauliflower, beans, courgettes and cucumber are all low-acid vegetables. To stop botulism bacteria growing, the acid has to reach a minimum level evenly through the whole mix. No lab-tested recipe exists for the British mustard-sauce style, so nobody has checked that it does, and there is no tested cupboard keeping time. Food-safety guidance for small producers from Scottish Borders Council and Orkney Islands Council says pickles that can't be guaranteed to reach pH 4.5 or lower belong in the fridge, even before they are opened. Orkney's version sets a maximum of 10 days for them. The guidance is written for people who sell preserves, and the same limit is a sensible one at home.
Two jars is about as much as most households will eat in 10 days, so make the full batch only if you can get through four. A lid that has sealed down as the jar cooled doesn't change any of this.
Botulism is very rare in the UK, but the risk goes up when food is preserved at home, and home-preserved foods are among those linked to it. Throw a jar away if the lid bulges, or if you see mould or smell anything yeasty, fermented or alcoholic. Those are signs of spoilage; the fridge and the 10-day limit are what guard against the risks you can't see. The guide to how long preserves keep covers storage across the other jams, chutneys and pickles.
The rules that don't bend
| Ingredient | Change it? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Vinegar | No | Keep the amount and use it at 5% acidity or stronger, never watered down |
| Sugar and honey | No | Keep the proportions as written |
| Cornflour | Never add more | Extra thickener is not something to adjust by eye |
| Vegetables | Mix freely, keep the weight | Weigh them after trimming and cutting |
| Spices | To taste | Mustard seeds, cumin, coriander and pepper can vary |
Check the label: never use a vinegar whose strength you don't know.
Full batch and half batch
| Ingredient | Full batch | Half batch |
|---|---|---|
| Prepared vegetables | 1kg | 500g |
| Fine sea salt | 50g | 25g |
| Cornflour | 25g | 12.5g |
| English mustard powder | 10g | 5g |
| Ground turmeric | 10g | 5g |
| Yellow mustard seeds | 15g | 7.5g |
| Cumin seeds | 1 tsp | ½ tsp |
| Coriander seeds | 1 tsp | ½ tsp |
| Celery seeds | ½ tsp | ¼ tsp |
| Water (for the paste) | 50ml | 25ml |
| Cider or white wine vinegar | 500ml | 250ml |
| Granulated sugar | 100g | 50g |
| Honey | 50g | 25g |
| Makes | about 4 x 370ml jars | about 2 x 370ml jars |
Jars and lids
The sterilising guide gives the oven, dishwasher and hot-water methods. Always use new lids, never ones saved from old jars. Acids in pickles corrode metal, so choose lids made for vinegar preserves. The jars guide covers which ones work.
From the plot to the jar
Any four or five of these vegetables work: cauliflower, cucumber, courgettes, green tomatoes, peppers, carrots, baby onions, green beans, mangetout and runner beans. Use whatever is ready. Weigh them after trimming so the total stays the same.
| Crop | Cropping | Pick at |
|---|---|---|
| Cauliflower (summer and autumn types) | July to October | Large enough and still firm, before the head starts to separate |
| Courgettes | July to October | 10–12.5cm long |
| Runner beans | Mid-summer into early autumn | 20–25cm, before the beans inside swell |
| French beans | Crops for 8–10 weeks | 15–20cm, when the pods snap easily |
| Outdoor cucumbers | Usually finish by September | Before the fruit turns yellowish, bulbous or soft |
Young carrots round out the mix. The overlap is why August and September are the months for piccalilli.
Scotland's short, cool season often leaves tomatoes still green on the plant when the first frost comes, and they can go in too. Frost arrives at different times across Scotland, so check the frost dates for your area. If there are more green tomatoes than a small batch of piccalilli can use, the green tomato chutney takes a bigger quantity.
Surplus beans, cauliflower and carrots that won't fit in the jars can be blanched and frozen instead; the guide to freezing and blanching vegetables covers how. For a vinegar pickle that uses a single crop, try pickled beetroot.
Common questions
Can I use malt vinegar instead of cider vinegar?
Use a vinegar of at least 5% acidity and keep the amount exactly the same. The recipe is written for cider or white wine vinegar, and malt vinegar will change the flavour.
My sauce seems thin. Can I add more cornflour?
No. Keep the cornflour at the amount given. Adding more thickener than a recipe states can make a thickened relish unsafe.
Can I use less sugar or vinegar?
No. Keep the vinegar, sugar and honey in the proportions given. Change only the vegetable mix and the whole spices.
Can I water-bath the jars so they keep in the cupboard?
No. There is no tested processing time for this style of piccalilli, so a water bath doesn't make it cupboard-safe. For a cupboard relish, use a tested recipe such as the end-of-season relish.
Sources
Show the 10 sources
- Recipe proportions based on: Pam Corbin's piccalilli (Kilner, with Aspall): All ingredient quantities; vegetable options; 24-hour dry salting in a cool place; rinsing in ice-cold water and draining; spice paste with 50ml water; heating vinegar, sugar and honey; 3–4 minute simmer; brief simmer with vegetables; filling to the brim and sealing immediately; yield of 4 x 370ml jars
- Piccalilli (Olivia Stevens, Kilner): Runner beans and courgettes among piccalilli vegetables
- Piccalilli (National Center for Home Food Preservation, University of Georgia): US tested piccalilli is a green tomato and cabbage relish boiled until reduced by half, with pickling spice and no mustard, processed in a boiling-water canner
- General Information on Pickling (National Center for Home Food Preservation, University of Georgia): 5% acidity vinegar; do not alter vinegar proportions or use vinegar of unknown acidity; uniform acid level needed to prevent botulinum growth
- Homemade Pickles & Relishes, B2267 (University of Wisconsin-Extension): Thickened (corn) relish caution not to thicken more than stated or an unsafe product may result; do not dilute vinegar
- Food Safety and Labelling Guidance for small scale home producers (Scottish Borders Council): Refrigerate pickles that can't be guaranteed at pH 4.5 or lower, even before opening; lids on immediately while hot; do not reuse lids; jar sterilising methods
- Making Jam and Similar Products (Orkney Islands Council, Environmental Health): Refrigeration with a maximum 10-day shelf life for chutneys and pickles whose pH 4.5 can't be guaranteed; botulism very rare in the UK with increased risk when preserving; do not reuse lids
- Botulism (Clostridium botulinum) (Food Standards Agency, GOV.UK): Home-preserved foods linked to botulism; don't eat from bulging containers
- Storing Home-Canned Jams and Jellies (National Center for Home Food Preservation): Discard signs: mould, yeasty, fermented or alcohol smell (used as general preserve advice)
- Frequently Asked Preservation Question: Pinholes in Lids (Penn State Extension): Acids in foods corrode metal lids