Grape Pickle

….A few days ago, I harvested a basket of grapes in @hyunmi_leey’s garden and brought them home. Throughout the year, my friend did all the hard work, and it feels like all the joy has come to me. We harvested so much that the basket overflowed, and we even picked apples, taking a bite each and looking at each other, saying they were delicious. Even when it came to the small apples, she said, ‘Give them to your grandson, Siwoo,’ and her willingness to share everything makes me smile endlessly. Looking at the paper bags hanging on the fence, I think to myself that next year, I will definitely hang the paper bags for them.

While savoring the juicy and plump grape berries, I had a thought: Have you ever tried making grape pickles? Grape pickles, something unfamiliar to me! The refreshing taste of the grape pickles that were served on top of the arugula salad we had with my family at the RH restaurant in Yountville last summer came to mind. Even though I couldn’t find the exact recipe, I decided to give it a try using a tomato pickle recipe. I poured grapes with some lemon and thyme, which I had picked one by one, into a sterilized jar, and then poured the already boiled and cooled pickling liquid. It looks absolutely beautiful, and I am very satisfied. Since we harvested the grapes we had been waiting for together, I made to create a recipe to remember this moment.

I patiently waited for 7 days, imagining the flavor of the grapes maturing with their wrinkled skins enhancing the taste.

Time: 30 minutes plus 7 days for fermentation

Ingredients:

1. 500 g grapes, cleaned, pat dry, and picked one by one
2. 135 g sugar
3. 1 1/2 cups water
4. 1/2 tbsp sea salt
5. 1/2 cup vinegar
6. 1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
7. 2 tsp sparkling spices
8. 3 bay leaves
9. 10 g ginger, sliced
10. 1 Meyer lemon, sliced
11. 7–10 thymes

Cooking Instructions:

1. Heat a pot over medium heat and add the water, vinegar, white balsamic vinegar, sugar, sparkling spices, sea salt, bay leaves, and ginger. Bring the mixture to a boil in the pot.

2. Reduce the heat to low and simmer the pickle liquid with a lid for 7 to 8 minutes. Then, allow the pickle liquid to cool down.

3. Pour the grapes into a sterilized bottle and add some lemon pieces and thyme to the bottle.

4. After the pickle liquid has cooled down, strain it using a strainer.

5. Pour the pickle liquid into the grape bottle and refrigerate it for 7 days.

You can also view this recipe on instagram.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CxielubLuTu/?img_index=1