When you are learning how long should you marinade vegetables you should first learn what kind of marinades you should be using on the foods you are planning to make into meals. For example, if you are making a grilled or sauced meat recipe then you will want to use a more barbeque-like marinade such as spicy bbq sauce. If you are making a raw vegetable salad, then you would use a much milder dressing. This is just an example of how the types of marinades you use can vary. So, if you were making a beef and barley soup recipe, then you may want to marinate the beef in a much sweeter vinegar and use a whole lot of fresh herbs and vegetables as well.
When making a marinade for a recipe where you will be using seasonings, remember that herbs and spices will need to be softened before using them. You can soften herbs and spices by simmering or cooking them until soft, such as in a crock pot or in the oven. If you are unsure about how long to make the marinades for your recipes, you can always read the back of the container to see how long they should remain in there before you throw them away. If you are wondering how long should you marinade garlic, onions, or peppers for, the recommended amount is a half a cup for each pound of whatever it is that you are putting into the marinade. If you use too much, the flavors won’t stay intact for very long.
Another question that you might have about how long should you marinade vegetables is if you should be making it the night before and just put the vegetables in the fridge overnight. There are benefits to both methods of preparation, however, and here are my recommendations. First, if you’re cooking your vegetables at night and you marinate them the night before, they will freshen up much faster because they aren’t sitting around on the counter absorbing odors and getting old.
Also, if you plan on eating the cooked vegetables within 24 hours of marinating them, make sure they are fully cooked through, but not mushy. The longer they’re cooked, the less likely they are to retain some of the flavor of whatever it is that you were cooking. Also, if you plan on making a salad the next day, you can marinade those vegetables a lot longer than you can an onion, for instance, which makes a distinction for me between light salads and heavier ones. In a nutshell, though, make sure that whichever vegetables you are marinating is fairly soft so that they soak up all the delicious juices from whatever it is that you are cooking. You can use a marinade such as a brisket marinade to help add some variety to your vegetables.
As for when to make your marinade, it should be ready the same day that you plan on cooking it. Don’t wait for it to sit around on the counter for an entire day before you use it, as this will cause it to lose much of its freshness, so make sure you marinate your veggies well enough in advance that it will be ready the day of your cooking. And, finally, make sure that you pick your spices very carefully. I always go for cumin seed, garlic, black pepper, and ginger, but there are a lot of great choices out there, so choose yours according to your preferences.
That’s really all there is to learning how long should you marinade vegetables. You just need to remember that you want everything to be as fresh as possible, and that you want to let the vegetables “breathe” so that they retain most of the flavor of whatever it is you are cooking. Adding liquid also helps things go better along with the vinegar or oil that you have used. I personally like to use lemon juice and olive oil, and a little bit of salt, though you could just use water. Adjust the mixture accordingly and you should be fine.
