Ancestry Magazine

Every year, Granny would pull this handwritten mustard pickle recipe out on a morning when the foothills of the Canadian Rockies outside her door were ablaze with autumn color. She’d be in a hurry—the hard killing frost was always so unpredictable. She had to get to her garden.
Armed with a butcher knife and a milk pail, Granny would stop at the edge of the garden and glance down the rows, surveying the abundant harvest of cauliflower and other vegetables she’d grown. Then she’d go to work. In no time, she’d have heads of cauliflower cut up and placed in brine and the old glass canning jars filled, sealed, and cooling on the counter. No reason to label the bottles—the golden color would give away the contents. She repeated the process again and again and stored the jars on the shelves of the pantry.
And that’s where they’d stay until the darkest days of winter, when several spoonfuls of mustard pickles brightened our plates and piqued our appetites. I’m not sure we ever told Granny how grateful we were that she went to the trouble to make mustard pickles. But I think
she knew.

Mustard Pickles:
16 cups cauliflower
1/2 cup salt
6 cups white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups sugar
1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup dry mustard

Break the cauliflower into small pieces. Place in a deep bowl and cover with water. Add the salt and let stand overnight. Drain, rinse, and set aside.
Scald together the white vinegar, turmeric, remaining salt, and sugar. In a separate bowl, add a small amount of water to the flour to make a paste. Add flour paste and mustard to the vinegar mixture. Boil 5 minutes. Add cauliflower. Return to boil, stirring constantly. Bottle and process at once.