[Traditional British Christmas Pickles]

Ingredient image: Onion

Ingredient image: garlic

Ingredient image: tomato.

Ingredients image: bell peppers and eggplants

Seasoning

Coriander seed powder: optional

Cut the onion into pieces.

Chop the garlic. Do not add oil, add the onion and garlic to a large pot and heat over medium heat. The vegetables will release water on their own, so there is no need to worry about burning the pot. If concerned, add a little salt to speed up the release of water. From this point, stir occasionally to ensure the ingredients are heated evenly.

Next, peel the tomatoes. Wash them, and make a cross cut on the top.

Place in a basin and add boiling water until it covers the tomatoes.

Wait 1–2 minutes until the skin cracks. Take it out (be careful, it's hot!).

Let it cool slightly, then peel it.

Cut into pieces and add to the pot.

Cut the bell peppers into pieces and add them to the pot.

Cut the eggplant into pieces and add it to the pot.

At this point, the vegetables released a lot of water! Once it comes to a boil, add various seasonings, then simmer over medium heat to reduce the sauce. At this stage, stir from time to time because there is a lot of sugar, making it easy to stick to the pan, especially towards the end when it becomes thicker and stickier. It's best to switch to low heat in the final stage and keep stirring continuously to ensure it doesn't burn.

Let it cool slightly, then peel

When reducing the juice, prepare the bottles. Wash the bottles and then sterilize them with heat. Use glass bottles with metal lids, and the lids and bottles should seal tightly. Sterilize several bottles just in case. Generally, jars for jam and sauces are heat-resistant because manufacturers also need to heat-sterilize them. If the bottles are not heat-resistant, you can tell during sterilization, and if so, do not use them. The most convenient method is steaming for at least 20 minutes, with both bottles and lids facing down to prevent water accumulation. Keep the utensils steaming in the pot until filling.

My steamer is really too small, so I couldn't fit it all in, and only steamed the bottle caps. I put the bottles in the oven at 150 degrees. (Because all my bottle caps have a layer of rubber, they got burnt in the oven!)

-40 minutes, until large bubbles can be seen, the pot seems to contain jam, push the vegetables to one side, with basically no excess liquid released.

Prepare heat-resistant tongs, a wooden board, gloves, etc., and start bottling: be careful of burns, keep children away! Use heat-resistant tongs and gloves/towels. Take out a bottle, place it on the insulating board, and pour the cooked pickles in while hot. It's best to use a large-holed funnel, but I don't have one, so I have to fill it spoon by spoon. Try to make sure there are no air pockets in the middle. Fill until almost full, leaving a little space to create a vacuum as it cools.

Wipe the bottle mouth clean with a clean paper or cloth, find the corresponding lid for this bottle, and seal it tightly while it is still hot. As it cools, the small amount of air we left will contract, and our bottle will be vacuum-sealed just like a normal can! Then fill the bottles one by one until all the pickles are used up. Done!