Pickled cornichons

Perhaps you have already seen a few days ago, that I have been busy pickling gherkins in the week-end ? As I had received plenty of gherkins from my colleague's small holding, I decided to pickled the smaller gherkins a la cornichons using a recipe in the "green pickling book" issued by Tørsleffs Husmoder Service.

I have not changes to this recipe.

Pickled cornichons: - 1 big glass

• approx 20-25 smaller gherkins

Salt slurry:

• 1 liter water
• 200 g salt

Pickling slurry:

• 0.75 l plain vinegar
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 cloves of garlic - skin removed and cut into 4 smaller pieces
• fennel seeds
• 1/8 teaspoon of dried sage
• 1/8 teaspoon of dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon chilies
• 10 small pickled pearl onions
• potassium sorbate

1. As a first step prepare the salt slurry, so it has time to be cooled down. Add boiling water in a bowl with salt. Stir until the salt is dissolved. Let the salt slurry cool down, before the cleaned gherkins are added into this salt slurry.
2. Start by cleaning the small gherkins in plenty of water. I used a scourer to remove the dirty from the surface of the gherkins.
3. Cut to the two ends of each gherkin, before placing the gherkins in the salt slurry.
4. Place the salt slurry with gherkins cold. Let the gherkins stay in the salt slurry for approx. 24 hours.
5. Remove the gherkins from the salt slurry, dry the salted gherkins using a clean tea towel.
6. Put the gherkins and pickled pearl onions in the pickling jar/glass. 
7. Bring the vinegar to the boil, and pour it over the gherkins in the pickling jar/glass. 
8. After approx 12-24 hours drain the vinegar from the pickling jar/glass, drain the vinegar into a cooking pot.
9. Add the various ingredients mentioned under the pickling slurry into the vinegar.
10. Bring the vinegar incl ingredients to the boiling point, let the vinegar simmer for 5 minute.
11. Add the potassium sorbate into the pickling slurry.
12. Pour the hot spiced vinegar over the the gherkin in the pickling jar/glass.
13. Close the pickling jar/glass.
14. Let the small gherkin stand in the pickling slurry for approx 1 month, before you start to use them.