Pickling Spice

A blend of spices commonly used in the preparation of pickled fruits, vegetables, meats, fish, sauces, and spiced vinegar. Typically, the blend will include varying proportions of cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, and peppercorns as well as additional ingredients such as allspice berries, bay leaves, ginger, mace, red pepper flakes, dill seeds, fennel seeds, and mustard seeds. Pickling spice can be purchased as a blended mixture of specific spices or made by adding individual spices with the amounts desired. Since pickling spices are most often simmered in a liquid base, the spice ingredients can remain whole, such as peppercorns, seeds and berries, and placed in a cheesecloth bag.