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Pan Yan Pickle recipe

*PLEASE NOTE - this is a very old blog post - WE NO LONGER SELL PAN YAN PICKLE - Thank you :D *

 

Happy New Year, at present it's a very pretty one although I would like the snow to go fairly soon.

I was contacted by quite a few people last year when a jar of pan yan pickle was shown in the background during Kirsties Homemade Christmas.  I was initiated into the story of the lost recipe and the 'to date' failure of Premier Foods to reproduce the product once so familiar to so many.  I promised to investigate and eventually blog.

The jar behind me was made by Rose who sells in the local market.  She says her recipe is one passed down to her from her mother, its main constituents are: spiced vinegar, apples, sugar and saltanas.   I searched online and discovered there are variations on this recipe type using curry powder etc

The original recipe taken from ageneric  jar of Pan Yan Pickle shown 19.03.08  on mailonline. is as follows

Rutabagar (swede), sugar, apples, carrots, vinegar, thickener (modified starch) gerkins, acetic acid, peppers, onions, spices, colour (caramel), flavourings.

As I am told the pickle was a fine dice one, I suspect the swede/carrots etc were bought in pre-diced to provide the texture, there would be a background of apple (hence its preponderance in the other recipes ) within an spiced emulsion/sauce.  The recipe would be fairly easy to unpick if I had tasted it.

I like a challenge and if you can tell me your memories of its flavour as precisely as possible I would be happy to have a go at reconstituting it.  This comes with the caviat  that I don't buy in pre-prepared vegetables so the texture won't be accurate.

Once I have sufficient feedback to try and work out the 'spices' and 'flavourings' I will make a batch and put it on the website so it can be sampled.  If it manages to replicate the pickle then I will put the recipe in the book and/or offer it to Premier Foods as it is essentially a pickle for mass production.

If this is too much bother you may like to try Fortnum's pickle (I was given a jar at Christmas......you have to check out the opposition) Ingredients (not in full): sugar, vinegar, swede, parsnip, carrot, turnip, apple etc a similar texture (pre prep veg etc) to that described.

I'll be fascinated to see what the response is.........over to you, this is definitely something I can't do alone!

******************** *UPDATE* May 2013 ..... http://cranfieldsfoods.wordpress.com/2013/05/27/panyan-pickle-reconstructed/   Better late than never! ********************

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61 comments

  • Please let me no if anyone has something similar loved pan yan

    Ann Edwards
  • Yan-Pan Pickle

    You will need:-

    Swede
    White sugar
    Apples
    Carrots
    White wine vinegar
    Cornflour
    Pickled gherkins
    Green sweet peppers
    Onions
    Curry powder
    Ground turmeric.

    Peel the swede, chop it into tiny dice and put them in a large pan. Peel and dice some carrots, green peppers and onions. Slice and dice some cooking apples. Put all the vegetables in a pan. Add enough white vinegar to barely cover the vegetables, add about half a pint of water, then add about a pound of sugar. Chop a whole jar of pickled gherkins into tiny slices add them to your pan with a spoonful of ground turmeric and a large spoonful of curry powder. Bring to the boil and then reduce to simmer. Cook until all the vegetables are soft then remove from the heat and leave until cold. Next day bring to the boil again and add a large spoonful of cornflour mixed in water. Taste the mixture carefully, adding more vinegar or sugar according to your taste. Bottle in hot clean jars and keep for at least one month before use.

    David W
  • Pan Yan on Bacon Butties…….Alas I can only dream…….

    Ian Noble

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