What is turşu?
In English, turşu (often spelled tursu) simply means pickles: vegetables in a brine of water, salt and vinegar. In Turkey it is on the table at almost every meal: small, crisp and sour, as a counterweight to everything rich and spicy.
Vegetables in brine, given time
You make turşu by putting firm vegetables into a brine of water, salt and vinegar and then letting them ferment slowly. The result is crisp, fresh and pleasantly sour, and it keeps for a long time. Because nothing goes in but vegetables and brine, every jar is naturally vegetarian and vegan. We make ours ourselves, in small quantities.
Turşu or a pickled gherkin?
A gherkin is not a different vegetable but a kind of cucumber: a small, firm variety grown specifically for pickling. For our turşu we use stekkomkommer, a short cucumber variety, rather than gherkins. Not every cucumber can be used for turşu. Beyond that, turşu is a collective name rather than a single vegetable: cabbage, cauliflower, carrot, beetroot and, in season, young melon go in just as readily. And where a sweet-sour gherkin is a snack alongside the meal, turşu is eaten as part of the meal itself.
Which vegetables go in
Which vegetable you choose decides the flavour. Cucumber alone is the most classic. Cabbage with cauliflower and carrot gives the firmest bite. Beetroot makes the jar sweeter and turns everything deep pink. We make six jars of it, from the mixed one to cabbage and carrot only.
Karışık turşu: the mixed jar
Karışık means mixed. Karışık turşu is turşu made from several vegetables together in one brine, so every bite is a little different. Our karışık turşu is the Her Table mix: cucumber, cauliflower, white cabbage and carrot, with parsley, garlic and hot peppers.
How long turşu needs to stand
Turşu needs patience. In season, from May to September, expect at least ten days before a jar is up to flavour. Outside it takes longer, around twenty days. That time cannot be hurried, and you taste the difference: the longer the brine does its work, the fuller and fresher the flavour. That is why we make turşu in small quantities and give the fermentation the time it needs.
How long does turşu keep?
Unopened, a jar of turşu keeps for a long time in a cool, dark place: the brine is what preserves it. Once opened, keep the jar in the fridge and keep the vegetables under the brine. Use a clean fork rather than your fingers and push back whatever floats up; that keeps turşu crisp for weeks. If a jar smells like anything other than sour and fresh, do not eat it.
Turşu on your own table?
We make six jars of turşu, from the mixed one to cabbage and carrot only, and ship them across the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and France.
More about turşu How to build a meze table