Pickled Strawberries

5 from 5 votes

Pickled Strawberries are delicious in a tossed salad, on crackers with cheese, or eaten out of the jar with a fork. The strawberries are not over-pickled, just given a bit of a pow to this delightful berry. Ready in an hour, can be stored up to five days before serving. Save the vinegar once the strawberries are gone and either add more strawberries for another batch or mix the vinegar with light olive oil for a bright, light salad dressing.

Prep Time5

Cook Time5

Total Time1 10

Course: Appetizer, Salad

Keyword: appetizers, pickles, salad, strawberries

Servings: people

Calories: 95kcal

Author: Sally Humeniuk

Equipment

Small sauce pan
Pint or quart heatproof jars with tight fitting lids. Canning jars work well

Ingredients

1 pound strawberries, ripe but firm. Hulled and halved if large
1 ½ cups white balsamic vinegar. May use white wine vinegar if cannot find white balsamic
6 tbsp granulated sugar
2 tbsp kosher salt
⅔ cup water

Instructions

Place 1 pound strawberries in a 1-qt. or two 1-pint heatproof jars. Bring 1 ½ cups vinegar, 6 Tablespoons sugar, 2 Tablespoons salt, and ⅔ cup water to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar and salt. Pour over strawberries. Let cool; cover and chill.
Ready to serve in one hour but the pickling intensifies over several days. They're equally delicious either way. If appearance matters, the strawberries will start to lose their bright color after 24 hours but are still perfectly fine.
After the strawberries are gone, you can refill the vinegar with more strawberries for another batch. Also, the vinegar from the pickled strawberries can be substituted like any vinegar in a homemade salad dressing.
The pickled strawberries are good for any use you can think of; serve the strawberries with a good Gorgonzola/blue cheese on little multi-grain toasts or favorite crackers; in any tossed green salad for tang and color; eat just plain out of the jar!

Notes

Though the recipe calls for ripe strawberries, lighter pink strawberries can also be used in the recipe with good success.
If using Alessi brand white balsamic vinegar, increase added water in the recipe by 3 tablespoons.
If you cannot find white balsamic vinegar, you may use white wine vinegar. Do NOT use regular dark colored balsamic as it is too intense for this recipe.
Here are some ingredients to make a quick strawberry vinaigrette using the leftover strawberry vinegar-

1 cup strawberries, stemmed and chopped
2 tablespoons honey
5 tablespoons leftover strawberry vinegar
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Blend all the above ingredients in the bowl of a food processor for about two minutes. Serve immediately or refrigerate up to 2 days. (Dressing recipe adapted from Southern Living)

Nutrition