Pickling Chayotes

The chayote slices soaking in the brine

In the last few weeks we have received a lot of chayotes that people have harvested from their gardens. Luckily these vegetables keep for a while, but you have to eat them eventually.

These gourds are native to South American countries, but are also found in many other parts of the world like the Caribbean, the United States, Philippines, Jamaica, India, Australia, Indonesia, and southern China.

Using a cloth makes it easier to peel the chayote

We have stir-fried them many times, and they can be cooked in soups.

The other day I decided to pickle them in the same kind of brine for daikon, which involves vinegar, salt, sugar and water.

After peeling off the tough and prickly skin of two chayotes, I sliced them in half and then into quarters and slices about 1cm wide.

Then I took the chunks and put them in a bowl and took a liberal tablespoon of salt and mixed it with the vegetable to get the moisture out of the slices for about 20 minutes to half an hour. That way they will be more crunchy later.

In the meantime I made the brine:

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup boiling water

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar (can use white vinegar)

1/4 rice vinegar

Slices of chayote ready to be salted and pickled

After about half an hour, I rinsed the chayote pieces with water to wash off the salt and the arranged them in a clean jar before pouring in the brine.

I let it sit in the refrigerator overnight and about 24 hours later I tried the pickled chayote. It tasted great! Tangy sour flavour with a crunch. 

Previously I have pickled them with soy sauce and balsamic vinegar, but this clear brine works better. 'll be making another batch soon to use up these chayotes before they turn bad!