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Home » preserves pickles » pam’s piccalilli (from River Cottage)

pam’s piccalilli (from River Cottage)

10 November, 2016 Last Modified: January 6, 2022

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Pam’s piccalilli, a wonderful mustard pickle is a mix of vegetables, pickled with spices. Delicious served with crusty bread, cold cuts and a cheeseboard.

In time for Christmas every year Michelle makes piccalilli. Her family love it, my family love it and our friend Laura’s Dad stops Michelle in the street to ask when his jar will be ready!

What is piccalilli?

Piccalilli is probably one of Britain’s favourite pickles, also know as mustard pickle. Crunchy vegetables in a sauce thickened with cornflour and laced with turmeric, mustard powder and other spices.

It is uncertain where piccalilli originated. It has been suggested that piccalilli is the English interpretation of Indian pickles. This sounds plausible given the ingredients, in particular English mustard powder, and the spicing.

One thing for sure is it’s not Canadian! I asked Michelle what started her making in the first place? Quite simply it was her husband Steve, a Yorkshireman who loves piccalilli but can’t stand shop bought. However, growing up Michelle does recall her Mum eating a similar type of pickle which she called chow chow pickle or chow chow relish!

Piccalilli being added to sterile jars.

Piccalilli is ideal over Christmas time as there is an abundance of cheese, ham and other cold cuts and it pairs perfectly. Michelle also loves it with her traditional Christmas meat pie.

Laura’s Dad happily eats it off a spoon and Michelle’s daughter Becca only eats the cauliflower. This recipe is not Michelle’s own but it is the one she goes to every year, it’s Pam’s piccalilli from the River Cottage website.

What vegetables should I use?

Traditional piccalilli uses cauliflower florets, cucumber, onions, and green beans. While I sometimes stick to those vegetables, each year my batch depends on what I have grown in the garden, but always includes cauliflower and onion.

You can choose to adapt the vegetables to what you prefer. I use courgettes instead of cucumber as I grow my own. I have used Romanesco broccoli in the past, along with ordinary broccoli instead of green beans.

Homemade piccalilli is a great way to use small amounts of vegetables that would otherwise be wasted.

How long does it take to make the pickle?

It is important to allow yourself 2 days to prepare the piccalilli properly. The first day is spent chopping and prepping the vegetables into bite sized pieces. Sounds tedious but when serving you want to have small bites rather than large chunks of vegetables.

How to make Piccalilli – recipe steps:

Vegetables, such as cauliflower, courgettes, carrots and onions chopped into bite sized pieces.

Once all your vegetables are prepared they must be salted and left to sit for 24 hours. This process draws the water from the vegetables and leaves them with that all important crunch as they are added to a hot paste before being jarred.

Vegetables in a basket coated in salt to draw out the moisture as a first step in preparing picalilli.

Missing this important step will leave you with excess moisture in the jars and soggy vegetables, not appetising at all.

I prefer to use my large salad spinner as it allows me have a basket in which the moisture can drip from. If you don’t have a spinner then a sieve used over a large bowl and covered with a tea towel works just as well.

Spices and vinegar to make the paste for piccalilli

The wonderful signature yellow colour for piccalilli comes from turmeric and mustard powder. Once your vegetables have sat for the full 24 hours you will see there is a large amount of water from them. Follow the steps to drain this and rinse the vegetables under cold water to remove the salt.

Next up gather the spices and prepare your jars as its a quick process from here. For more information on sterilising the jars you can check our apple jelly for more details on how to do this.

Spices mixed with cornflour to form the basis of a pickle.

While the jars are sterilising mix the spices according the recipe below to begin the cooking process.

Piccalilli spice paste ready to cook.

Ensure all your spices and cornflour are mixed well with a little bit of the vinegar, just enough to form a paste to look like the image above.

Next up I suggest you open a window! Your kitchen will have a strong smell of vinegar for the next step. While I love this process, some may not. Add the vinegar and sugar to a pan and bring to the boil before adding in the spice paste.

Once the vinegar has boiled a few minutes I like to add a bit of the boiled liquid to the paste to loosen it before adding the paste to the hot vinegar. I find this allows it to distribute more evenly as the cornflour will thicken the mix quickly.

Once the paste has been loosened add the rest to the pan of boiling vinegar and whisk quickly to form a sauce like above.

Now it’s time to take the pan off the heat and add in the vegetables. I like to have my sterilised jars and a jam collar to hand so this process is done quickly. Ensure the vegetables are fully covered in the sauce before adding to the jars and sealed.

Piccalilli being added to sterile jars.

Fill the jars and push the vegetables in with the back of a spoon. The less air in the jars the better and longer they will keep unopened.

While its tempting to use these straight away a pickle like this takes time for the flavours to infuse into the vegetables. At this stage it will taste “vinegary” and not balanced.

Allow the jars to sit in a cool, dark space for at least 6 weeks before opening. I always label with the date made and the date ready to enjoy.

When to make piccalilli?

Piccalilli is always on my mind in October when I am at the end of my vegetable growing season, making it an ideal time to be ready for the Christmas cheeseboard and leftovers!

We are always changing recipes to suit our tastes however, we are sharing this link with you as it needs no adjustments and works perfectly every time. It’s well worth it and just in time for Christmas – it also makes the perfect foodie gifts for family and friends.

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Additional recipe suggestions:

If you like this recipe then try some of our other preserves:

  • Quick Courgette & Shallot Pickle
  • Spicy Sweet Chilli Jam
  • Simple Roasted Carrot Hummus
  • Mulled Pears
  • Apple Jelly

More delicious chutneys perfect for a cheeseboard:

  • Spicy Courgette Chutney – Farmersgirl Kitchen
  • Caramelised Onion Chutney – Curly’s Cooking
  • Homemade Fruit Chutney – Recipes Made Easy

Pam’s Piccalilli (from River Cottage)

Pam's piccalilli, a wonderful mixture of vegetables, pickled with spices. Delicious served with crusty bread, cold cuts and a cheeseboard.
4.71 from 17 votes
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Prep Time: 1 d 1 hr
Cook Time: 15 mins
Pickling Time: 30 d
Total Time: 31 d 1 hr 15 mins
Servings: 4 jars
Calories: 447kcal
Author: Michelle Rolfe

Ingredients

  • 1 kg mixed vegetables (wash & peel vegetables – select 5 or 6 from the following: cauliflower or romanesco cauliflower; green beans; cucumbers; courgettes; green or yellow tomatoes; tomatilloes; carrots; small silver-skinned onions or shallots; peppers)
  • 50 g fine salt
  • 30 g cornflour
  • 10 g ground tumeric
  • 10 g English mustard powder
  • 15 g yellow mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp crushed cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp crushed coriander seeds
  • 600 ml cider vinegar
  • 150 g granulated sugar
  • 50 g honey

Instructions

  • Cut the vegetables into small, even bite-sized pieces. Place in a large bowl and sprinkle with the salt. Mix well, cover the bowl with a tea towel and leave in a cool place for 24 hours, then rinse the veg with ice-cold water and drain thoroughly.
  • Blend the cornflour, turmeric, mustard powder, mustard seeds, cumin and coriander to a smooth paste with a little of the vinegar. Put the rest of the vinegar into a saucepan with the sugar and honey and bring to the boil.
  • Pour a little of the hot vinegar over the blended spice paste, stir well and return to the pan. Bring gently to the boil. Boil for 3–4 minutes to allow the spices to release their flavours into the thickening sauce.
  • Remove the pan from the heat and carefully fold the well-drained vegetables into the hot, spicy sauce. Pack the pickle into warm, sterilised jars and seal immediately with vinegar-proof lids. Set aside in a cool, dark place and leave for 4–6 weeks before opening. Use within a year.

Notes

Recipe taken from River Cottage, Pam’s Piccalilli. This recipe has worked every time and tastes delicious so I have never felt the need to change it!
Nutrition Facts
Pam's Piccalilli (from River Cottage)
Amount Per Serving
Calories 447 Calories from Fat 36
% Daily Value*
Fat 4g6%
Saturated Fat 1g6%
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
Monounsaturated Fat 2g
Sodium 129mg6%
Potassium 772mg22%
Carbohydrates 94g31%
Fiber 12g50%
Sugar 49g54%
Protein 10g20%
Vitamin A 12703IU254%
Vitamin C 27mg33%
Calcium 104mg10%
Iron 5mg28%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

• Please note that the nutrition information provided above is approximate and meant as a guideline only •

Course : Preserves
Cuisine : British
Keyword : Preserve
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Tagged With: Christmas, gardening, seasonal, vegetarian 17 Comments

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Dean

    12 October, 2021 at 07:52

    Looking forward to making your picalilly. I assume the salt in the recipe is just used for drawing water out of the veg and not added to the cooking mixture? The nutrition label gives a high % of salt?

    Reply
    • Lesley

      12 October, 2021 at 10:18

      Thank you for pointing this out Dean, you are of course quite right and the salt is only to draw the water out of the veg, before it is then washed away. I really appreciate this comment and I will now go and amend the nutritional label so that it reads properly. Meantime, I hope you enjoy the piccalilli, it’s a favourite recipe of ours.

      Reply
  2. Chris Akroyd

    1 August, 2021 at 09:53

    5 stars
    My go to piccalilli recipe.
    I do use 50g of cornflour and an extra spoonful of honey as I like mine very thick and sweet.
    Great depth of flavour and you taste all the spices in waves.
    The honey also adds a superb extra level and I’m not a great honey fan, but it works so well with this recipe, so don’t substitute it for sugar
    I am one for adding extra spices, chilli etc to everything, but in this case it’s not needed
    Cannot be beaten with good fresh baked bread, butter and home baked ham and a nice pint of bitter

    Reply
    • Michelle

      4 August, 2021 at 11:21

      I agree Chris, a great recipe. Love the ability to add those little changes to make things your own and to your own taste. Cheers, Michelle

      Reply
  3. Eb Gargano | Easy Peasy Foodie

    2 November, 2020 at 16:39

    5 stars
    Such a lovely recipe = perfect for gluts of home-grown produce! Eb x

    Reply
    • Lesley

      2 November, 2020 at 16:44

      Thank you Eb, it certainly proves very popular in our homes, perfect with a cheeseboard and some cold cuts. Lesley

      Reply
  4. Cat | Curly's Cooking

    29 October, 2020 at 20:25

    5 stars
    What a great way to use homegrown vegetables to make a delicious pickle. Such an amazing colour and this would be a fantastic addition to any cheeseboard!

    Reply
    • Lesley

      2 November, 2020 at 07:50

      Thank you Cat, I love this pickle, it’s great on a cheeseboard and the colour is beautifully vibrant. Lesley

      Reply
  5. Jacqui – Recipes Made Easy:Only Crumbs Remain

    28 October, 2020 at 18:43

    5 stars
    I know a lot of people who are fans and I do sometimes make it for friends. Thank you for sharing on #CookBlogShare

    Reply
    • Lesley

      29 October, 2020 at 08:19

      Thank you Jacqui, it makes a great foodie gift for friends with a nice cheeseboard. Lesley

      Reply
  6. Magdalena

    27 October, 2020 at 17:46

    5 stars
    It’s good to know that you can use different vegetables with this recipe – we have a glut of veggies from our friend’s allotment and this recipe will be great to use.

    Reply
    • Lesley

      28 October, 2020 at 11:59

      Thank you Magdalena, this is a great recipe for using up a glut of vegetables, it’s ideal when you can pickle and preserve when you have too much. Lesley

      Reply
  7. Chloe Edges

    27 October, 2020 at 13:10

    5 stars
    Well Pan certainly send to know what she’s doing doesn’t she! The colour of picalilli is always so wonderful, this is clearly no exception.

    Reply
    • Lesley

      27 October, 2020 at 14:03

      Thank you Chloe, piccalilli is a real treat, I love the colour and it is great on a cheeseboard! Lesley

      Reply
  8. Janice Pattie

    22 October, 2020 at 15:54

    5 stars
    This piccalilli is so good. It’s a great recipe and really easy to make.

    Reply
    • Lesley

      22 October, 2020 at 16:17

      Thank you Janice, it’s certainly a lovely pickle and one we both enjoy eating. Great on a cheeseboard, with some cold cuts. Lesley

      Reply
  9. Lorraine Smith

    28 August, 2020 at 20:11

    5 stars
    Brilliant recipe saw it today on the show & im going to try it out thank you

    Reply

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