How to make piccalilli

Where it comes from and what it is

Piccalilli descends from eighteenth-century British attempts at Indian pickles — the name derives from "India pickle" — and it settled into something entirely British: cauliflower, onion, cucumber and beans in a sharp turmeric-yellow mustard sauce.

The sauce is thickened with flour or cornflour, which is what distinguishes it from every other pickle in this section. That thickening is also why the vegetables must be firm: a soft vegetable in a thick sauce gives a uniform mush.

It is not a chutney, despite often sitting next to them. Nothing is cooked down for hours, and the vegetables are meant to be recognisable and crunchy.

The method

Salt, drain, sauce, combine. FoodHQ does not publish acidity figures, brine strengths or keeping times, and does not say which pickles are safe unrefrigerated. Those are safety numbers set by a food safety authority; in the UK the Food Standards Agency is the authority. Use a recipe from it or from a body with the same standing, and treat this page as the explanation of what the method is doing.

1. Cut cauliflower into small florets, and dice onion, cucumber and green beans to a similar size. Marrow, courgette and green tomato are also traditional.
2. Layer the vegetables with salt in a large bowl and leave overnight. Alternatively use a strong brine for a few hours. This is essential — it draws out water and firms everything.
3. Rinse thoroughly and drain very well. Any water left dilutes the sauce.
4. Make the sauce: mix mustard powder, turmeric, ground ginger, cornflour and sugar to a paste with a little of the vinegar.
5. Heat the rest of the vinegar with whole spices, then whisk in the paste and cook, stirring, until it thickens and the flour taste has gone.
6. Stir in the drained vegetables and heat through for a couple of minutes only. They should stay firm — this is not a cooking stage.
7. Pot into hot sterilised jars with vinegar-proof lids and leave for at least a month. Piccalilli is harsh when young.

The elements

Cauliflower

The backbone. Cut into small florets so they take the sauce.

Mustard powder

English mustard powder gives the heat and the character. Not a mild mustard.

Turmeric

The colour, and a little earthiness. It is what makes piccalilli yellow.

Cornflour or plain flour

The thickener. Cornflour gives a clearer, glossier sauce; flour a slightly opaque one.

Vinegar

Malt is traditional and assertive. Cider vinegar gives a gentler result.

What goes wrong

• Soggy vegetables. Not salted long enough, or cooked in the sauce rather than heated through.
• Thin sauce. Not enough thickener, or the vegetables were wet when they went in.
• Floury taste. The sauce was not cooked long enough after the paste went in.
• Lumpy sauce. The paste was added to hot vinegar without being slaked first. Always mix it with cold vinegar to a smooth paste.
• Harsh and raw. Too young. It needs a month at least.
• Dull colour. Old turmeric. It fades on the shelf and is worth replacing.
• Uneven texture. Vegetables cut to different sizes. Aim for a consistent dice.

Common questions