few days ago, I was asked by a reader about my Hoxsey solution to pickle relish. If you are not familiar with the Hoxsey diet for curing cancer, while on the tonic, we are not allowed to have vinegar. That is a problem if you want pickles, because most commercial made pickles are made with vinegar - and salt -- lots of salt! No wonder I LOVE them! For the Hoxsey cure dieter, this is indeed quite a pickle -- ha ha! The solution to this problem is in the brine.
By using a fresh pickling method (a.k.a. refrigerator pickles) any sour citrus, such as lemon, lime, or even sour orange juice can be substituted for the offending vinegar! What about the salt? Because it is a fresh pickle, or a refrigerator pickle, not as much salt (even no salt) is needed as in a traditional vinegar hot processed, or even in a natural fermented pickle. The salt is needed in those methods to preserve the veggies from bad bacteria. In the case of a fresh citrus pickle, refrigeration is what keeps the bacterial nasties at bay. The FDA recommends consuming these fresh pickles within three days of making them, because of the way these pickles are processed, low or no salt, and no heat. This also works in our favor as this is not enough time to produce any trace amounts of carbonation, alcohol, or vinegar that would be produced in a traditional fermentation process, which are also on our list of "no-nos". This is indeed good news for the Hoxsey patient!
Types of Veggies
The Flavorings
Sweet or Savory?
The Juice. Choose Your Citrus!
Lemon and lime juices can easily be used as the fresh pickling liquid to replace vinegar. The pH of lemon and lime juice is 2.4 and vinegar is around 2.8. but any sour or bitter oranges such as Seville oranges aren't as acidic at 3.3 or higher. Your choice will effect the flavor of the finished pickle. As far as lemon is concerned, I have a Meyer lemon |