I played a lot with pineapple pickles this year, and I just love them! There’s already various pineapple & pineapple-pickle recipes on this blog you can check out.
Jangajji are quite different from what most Americans associate with “pickles” but they’re absolutely delicious and so easy to make. If you haven’t tried them, I have several more traditional jangajji recipes. Pineapple is not a regular jangajji you find in Korea but I’ve always enjoyed the flavor combo of pineapple and soy sauce so I figured I’d love the flavor on these and indeed I did!
The soy sauce, vinegar and salt all help to break down the pineapple over time so I strongly encourage starting with a very firm / barely ripe or slightly underripe pineapple. You can also add calcium chloride, aka “pickle crisp” granules to the brine to help maintain firmness over time. These will last for months or more, and will still be totally delicious, but over time this pickle just can’t maintain that same level of crunchiness you’ll find with other jangajji like chayote (a very crispy Mexican squash known in Korea as “choco”), cucumbers and other mixed vegetables. After about two months, they started to show signs of softening, though I would not describe them as mushy.
These are delicious to snack on, serve with rice, baked on pizza, served on burgers or fish, blended with hot peppers into hot sauce, and so many other crazy possibilities!
So let’s do this!
Equipment
- Quart mason jar (or half gallon to double the recipe using one whole pineapple)
- Knife & cutting board
- Small to medium saucepan
- Measuring cups & spoons
- Suggested: canning funnel
Ingredients (based on a quart jar)
- 1/2 pineapple, cubed or cut into spears
- 4-5 cloves garlic, quartered
- Finger of ginger, sliced (~15g) (optional)
- 1 hot pepper, sliced (optional)
- 2/3 cup water
- 2/3 cup soy sauce
- 2/3 cup rice vinegar (or white vinegar)
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp calcium chloride (optional)
Directions:
1.) Prepare the pineapple, garlic, ginger, and hot pepper according to the above. Place in the jar.
2.) In the saucepan, combine the water, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, salt, and (optional) calcium chloride granules. Bring to a low boil over high heat, stirring well, then turn off heat and allow to stand for one minute.
3.) Pour the hot brine over the jar using the (optional) canning funnel, to within between 1/2 and 1/4″ from the top. Seal tightly with the lid and allow to come to room temp. Then refrigerate for at least 4 days before eating.
Easy peasy! Or perhaps I should say easy pineapply!
