Pickled pineapple with jalapeños and radishes - Sydney Royal Easter Show winning pickle recipe!

After several attempts since 2014, I finally reach the pinnacle of pickling - I got the Blue Ribbon at the Sydney Royal Easter Show pickling competition (Vinegar pickles - class 413)! 

The vinegar pickles category requires competitors to submit two different pickles.  My first pickle was a pickled pineapple.  The second was pickled fennel and beetroot.  It's been around 8 months since the Easter Show but I've finally got a bit of time to share the winning recipe!

I'd noticed in several previous Easter Shows, the winning entries had one pickled vegetable and one pickled fruit.  So if I was serious about getting the Blue Ribbon, and in the absence of a clear judging criteria, I decided to follow suit. 

I  came up with the idea to submit pickled pineapple after reading about Al Pastor tacos which has grilled pineapple on it.  I thought a pickled pineapple would go great on a pork taco, or with anything pork-related.  The spices and herbs included were Asian inspired to compliment the pineapple.  The red radishes transfer their colour into the pickle brine and give the pickle a nice orange/pink hue. 

I thought I'd also add a Filipino twist to the recipe by using coconut vinegar for the brine.  Coconut vinegar is available in most Asian grocery shops, particularly Filipino shops. 

Pickled Pineapple Recipe

Ingredients

• A ripe pineapple, skin and core removed, cut into bite sized pieces.
• A bunch of radishes (the red ones), sliced thinly with a mandolin.
• Jalapeños (as many as you want), sliced thinly with a mandolin. 
• A thumb sized pice of galangal, sliced thinly.
• A thumb sized piece of ginger, sliced thinly.
• Coconut vinegar, 1 cup.
• Rice Vinegar, 1 cup.
• Sake or rice wine, 1/2 cup.
• Water, 1.5 cups.
• 5 lime leaves (kaffir lime).    
• Sugar, 4 tablespoons (or more if you like a sweeter pickle).
• Salt.

Making the pickle

1. One you've cut the pineapple into small, bite sized pieces, place it into a bowl with the radishes and jalapenos, cover them in about 3 tablespoons of salt, and make sure each piece is salted.  The salt will draw out some moisture from the fruit and vegetables.  
2. Into a saucepan, add the coconut vinegar, rice vinegar, sake, water, lime leaves, ginger, galangal, sugar and 1 tablespoon of salt. Bring to the boil, ensuring all the sugar and salt are dissolved.
3. Once some additional moisture has been removed from the pineapple and vegetables (about 2 hours), discard the extracted salty juice. 
4. Place the pineapple, radishes and jalapeños into jars.  Add a lime leaf, some ginger and galangal slices into each jar.  
5. Once each jar is filled, cover the jarred ingredients with the brine.
6. The pineapple will last a month if you don't can the jars.
7. If you want to can the jars, then boil the jars, ensuring the jars are submerged in boiling water, for 10 minutes.