Pickled Peppers in Milk

I think it is time to switch to summer recipes as the summer officially arrives. That's exactly why I chose two summer recipes for this week. Today, we are together with the first of these two summer recipes, pickled peppers in milk.

I am sure that those who have been following me for a while know that the recipe for eksimikli biber is important to me. It is my favorite dish since my childhood. Especially in summer, I can eat it with a good watermelon for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Eksimik is one of the most popular local dishes in Thrace. Although the geographical area it occupies is small, it is a piece of land that contains very different cultures in this small geography. There are many different people in Thrace who migrated from different Balkan countries and bring different cultures and dishes to the region during this migration. Some of the dishes brought are unique, but some also have common features with others. peppers with cheese is one of the dishes that show these common features. Although there are very thin lines between them, I will try to explain them.

What is Soka, Ciza and Long?

For Bulgarian immigrants, peppers with eksimik is the dish made by adding eksimik  to stir fried green peppers. Bosnian immigrants mix clotted cream and eksimik, fill it into small peppers and pickle them with milk and call it soka. In Kosovo, eksimik means ciza. Kosovo immigrants also call this stuffed pepper ciza. Albanians make pickles by chopping peppers like in this recipe and call it long.

Which Milk Should Be Used in Pickled Peppers in Milk?

Sheep or goat milk is used generally. If you can find and love it, you can use sheep or goat milk. Otherwise, cow's milk also works very well.

Can Yogurt Be Used Instead of Milk in Pickled Pepper?

Some use yogurt instead of milk. I haven't tried it before, but I can say even without trying that it will too sour for me. I recommend you to try it with milk first and if you like it and think that a more sour taste would be ok for you try it with yogurt the next time.

Do not forget to check the jars every day after you take them to rest. Their water may overflow and this may deteriorate and start to smell. So when you see water overflow, pour the water and wash the tray. Do not panic if you skip this stage and notice that they started to smell bad. The smells come from the overflowed water, not from the jars. Again, it will be enough to wash the tray and the outside of the jars.

How Do I Know If The Peppers Are Pickled?

After you pickle them, the colour of peppers will begin to lighten. Peppers begin to turn from dark green to yellowish green. Think like a color change when roasting the peppers.

How Long Does The Pickled Pepper Endures?

You can store your pickles in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 months without opening their lids, and try to consume them within 3-4 days after opening the lids.

Enjoy the recipe...

Bon Appetit...