Turkish · sauce/condiment

Kış Turşusu (Winter Pickles in Brine)

Name: Kış Turşusu (Winter Pickles in Brine)
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 505 h 5 min
Cuisine: Turkish
Ingredients: white cabbage — 500 g; pickling cucumber — 300 g; green tomatoes — 300 g; carrots — 200 g; hot pepper — 150 g; garlic — 60 g; chickpeas — 50 g; water — 1500 g; coarse salt — 90 g; wine vinegar — 120 g; dill — 10 g; fresh grape vine leaves — 2 g

Kış Turşusu (Winter Pickles in Brine) reads sourness 6.0, allium 4.5 and salinity 3.8 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Turkish sauce/condiment, about 505 hr 5 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

Umami & Savory — 4.4 / 10
Sweet & Fruity — 3.6 / 10
Sour & Bright — 6.7 / 10
Bitter & Earthy — 2.1 / 10
Rich & Fat — 2.0 / 10
Aromatic & Spice — 5.1 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Sourness 6.0 · Allium 4.5 · Salinity 3.8 · Heat 3.3 · Herbaceous 3.3 · Sweetness 3.2 · Umami 3.0 · Funk & Ferment 2.8 · Citrus 2.2 · Earthy 2.0 · Nutty 1.7 · Fruity 1.3 · Richness 1.0 · Warm Spice 1.0 · Floral 0.8 · Bitterness 0.8

What's in it (12)

white cabbage — 500 g
pickling cucumber — 300 g
green tomatoes — 300 g
carrots — 200 g
hot pepper — 150 g
garlic — 60 g
chickpeas — 50 g
water — 1500 g
coarse salt — 90 g
wine vinegar — 120 g
dill — 10 g
fresh grape vine leaves — 2 g

Time & effort: about 505 hr 5 min (20 min active) · effort: medium

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 19 kcal, 0.9 g protein, 0.2 g fat, 3.6 g carbs

Dietary: Vegan — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (7 steps)

Sterilise a 3-litre jar by filling it with boiling water, leaving it 5 minutes, then draining it dry. Wet, unsterilised jars are how a batch turns slimy.
Bring the water, rock salt and vinegar to a boil, stir until the salt has dissolved, then take off the heat and cool completely to room temperature, about 40 minutes. Never pour hot brine over the vegetables — it cooks them and you lose the snap.
Pack the vegetables into the jar in layers, the hardest first: carrots and cabbage on the bottom, then green tomatoes, cucumbers, hot peppers, tucking the garlic cloves and the dill down the sides as you go.
Scatter the dried chickpeas over the top. They are not there to be eaten — they feed the lactic fermentation and get it started faster, which is the old Anatolian trick.
Pour over the cold brine until everything is submerged by 3 cm, then lay the vine leaves flat on the surface and press down; their tannin keeps the pickles firm and holds the vegetables under. Weigh down with a small sterilised saucer if anything floats.
Close the jar loosely and leave at cool room temperature, around 18°C, for 3 weeks, opening it every few days to release the gas and pushing anything that has risen back under. The brine will cloud and then clear; it is ready when the cucumbers are olive-green throughout and the brine tastes sharp rather than salty.
Once ready, store in the cold, where it will keep through the winter. Serve alongside bean stews, pilav and grilled meat, with a little of the brine spooned over.

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Keep reading: what sourness, allium, salinity mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.