Pickling 101

Pickling is an easy, quick, cheap, and versatile method for flavoring and preserving a wide variety of otherwise-quickly-perishable foods. Of course, in the American culinary lexicon, the pickle most familiar to us—to the extent that “pickle” with no further context refers to this—is the pickled cucumber. But there are so many more possibilities for pickling beyond just cucumbers. Most home cooks don’t know how to do this either because they haven’t taken the time to learn or because they’re intimidated by the process. Either way, that’s truly a shame since the process is neither hard to learn nor complex. In fact, pickling is probably the most hands-free way to elevate components of almost any dish.

Pickling is, simply put, preserving food in a salty, acidic liquid. Almost anything can be pickled, with a few exceptions: I would stay away from Brassicas (broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, cabbage, spinach, and kale) because their flavors overpower the pickling process and because their textures don’t work as well with pickling. For us, that comes in the following form (this scales up very well, so scale up as much as you want, as long as you have a big enough container). This liquid is as follows: 1 cup of water plus one cup of a good vinegar that isn’t balsamic (white distilled or apple cider are the best ones that fit those criteria that I have at home) brought to a boil with 1 teaspoon of salt per cup of liquid (here, 2 teaspoons). Feel free to infuse any whole spices into this liquid now. Bring this to a boil to dissolve the salt and infuse whatever spices you want. Thinly slice your vegetables, place them in an airtight-sealable container, and then pour the still-hot pickling liquid over them and close the lid of that container, forming the airtight seal. Once this has cooled to room temperature, place in the fridge. Leave it there for anywhere between 3 days and a week before using for the first time. These pickles will stay good—and get better over time—for anywhere between 3 months and 1 year. If you ever see mold growing in your pickling liquid, throw everything away, wash out the jar, and start over.

Homemade pickles are a great way to enjoy the flavors of pickled food while knowing exactly what went into them. They involve fermentation, so they’re a great scientific demonstration for young kids just getting started in chemistry and/or in the kitchen. And, gastronomically, they’re a great way to bring both texture and flavor to any dish where the non-pickled ingredients would be called for—as toppings for burgers and salads or eaten on their own just to name a few uses.

(Credit to Southern Bite)