JENN McKINLAY: Anyone who follows me on the socials knows that this year I decided to lean all the way into gardening trowel first. Usually, I have flower pots and a sunflower patch, containers of tomatoes and peppers, and a seasonal herb garden, but this year, I went a little overboard. We now have two raised beds with sunshades and plans for two more. Mornings are spent in my pajamas, drinking my coffee and talking to my crops.
It has been a bountiful year for zucchini, cherry tomatoes, and shishito peppers, while the eggplant and pole beans quit on me. Now it seems it's the cucumbers time to shine and I am pretty thrilled as I love me a good pickle. Of course, I've never made pickles before so I'm also a tad nervous. This is where anyone who reads this is successful with pickles give me advice in the comments!
Of course while contemplating my future pickles, I went full librarian and had to do some research on facts about pickles because...the more you know. So, here are some little tidbits that I thought I'd share.
- Pickles have been around since ancient times. Some believe the first pickle was created in Mesopotamia in 2400 B.C.E. Others believe it was as early as 2030 B.C.E.
- Ancient Egyptian queen Cleopatra claimed pickles made her beautiful (although, there is some pushback on the accuracy of this tidbit).
- When the Philadelphia Eagles thrashed the Dallas Cowboys in the brutal heat of September 2000, the players attributed their win to one thing: guzzling down immense quantities of ice-cold pickle juice.
- The phrase “in a pickle” was first introduced by Shakespeare in his play, The Tempest. The quotes read, “How cam’st thou in this pickle?” and “I have been in such a pickle.”
- Sweet pickles are made by soaking dill pickles in strong Kool-Aid and are very popular in parts of Mississippi.
- You can hear the crunch of a good pickle at 10 paces.
- In Connecticut in order for a pickle to officially be considered a pickle, it must bounce. (I'm from CT and I did not know this).
- The majority of pickle factories in America ferment their pickles in outdoor vats without lids leaving them subject to insects and bird droppings! But there’s a reason. According to food scientists, the sun’s direct rays prevent yeast and molds from growing in the brine. (I don't think I needed to know this).
- Pickling vegetables not only improves their flavor, it can also make them more nutritious and easier to digest. During fermentation, bacteria produce vitamins as they digest vegetable matter.
- The Department of Agriculture estimates that the average American eats 8.5 lbs of pickles a year. (I fear I might be consuming more than my share--no regrets!).
It's bread and butter [sweet] pickles for me . . . . I haven't made pickles in years, but my grandmother gave me her bead-and-butter pickle recipe, and told me to always use small, firm cucumbers . . . .
ReplyDeleteI like dill pickles with garlic. It's hard to find crunchy jarred pickles!
ReplyDeleteI am NOT a fan of sweet pickles.
I don't get enough sun to grow cucumbers on my balcony garden. I tried making pickles once or twice by buying kirby cucumbers from the local FM.
But I have pickled radishes and onions each year.
Thanks for the facts, and good luck with the garden! We're having a hungry-bunny and -woodchuck season, so I hope my flourishing cukes survive.
ReplyDeleteI love a good sour or dill pickle, but absolutely detest sweet pickles. Back when I farmed, I made lots of my own pickles, cucumber and dilly bean, with my own dill.
My former mother-in-law had THE recipe, and all the d-i-ls (Jean had five sons) were nearly required to make pickles every year. For a big jar, it included a clove or two of garlic, a small hot pepper, and loads of dill. SO good.
Bread and butter pickles are our specialty too! I bet I could make sweet pickle lovers out of all of you with this recipe:). For a while, I made hot okra pickles too, but we don't get enough now to spare.
ReplyDeleteI admire your energy Jenn--gardening and then all those words too!! Don't tell John that doing both at once is possible...
I like bread and butter pickles
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your garden, Jenn! I love sour and dill pickles, but I will always pick out sliced sweet ones to leave at the side of my plate.
ReplyDeletePickling in vinegar was of course originally a method of food preservation. In colonial times a comfortably off family heading into winter had in their cellar a barrel of salt beef (beef pieces in brine) and/or salt pork, with a variety of pickled items, not just cucumbers, but in coastal towns, pickled oysters and pickled clams. (Selden)
I like most pickles, especially dill and sweet. I've never tried to make them, though. Your garden sounds like it's doing well.
ReplyDeleteCount me: LOVES PICKLES! And Lucy's bread and butter pickles are fabulous. When we lived in Manhattan we'd go to the lower east side and buy from a guy who purveyed his pickles from a barrel on a corner. They were amazing pickles that rarely made it home.
ReplyDeleteI have a sweet tooth, so I love watermelon pickles. You don't see this offered in many supermarkets any more. After my time in Japan, I really got into Japanese pickles. It seemed like they could and did pickle almost every plant, including seaweed. Anyone who loves sushi, will appreciate my love of "gari" the very thinly sliced ginger pickled in sweet vinegar. For a long time, the condiment was also dyed a pink or red color. Lately I am seeing pale yellow nestled next to the wasabi.
ReplyDeleteIs sauerkraut a pickle? If so I would merrily eat it for breakfast. Good luck with the crop Jen, and watch out for free floating wild yeast. Not what you want in the bath.
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DeleteCORALEE: I miss eating tsukemono (Japanese pickles)! I can find takuan (yellow pickled radish) in most Asian grocery stores but NOT the type of tsukemono i grew up with... linking back to Jenn's cucumber pickles.
DeleteKyurizuke are Japanese cucumbers are brined in a mix of soy sauce, salt, and sugar for one to two weeks until they have shrunk considerably and have a firm crunch. It came in packagesimported from Japan but I have not found them in Ottawa or online.
I miss eating them soooo much!
I also love eating sauerkraut.
I know they are fermented veggies which means there's healthy bacteria in addition to the brine. So is sauerkraut also a pickle? Don't know.
I love both sweet and dill pickles (the dill with a touch of garlic - yum). My mom used to call me Pickle Puss when I was a kid because I loved them so much.
ReplyDeleteI have not attempted to make pickles but I have picked onions. I love your pictures of your veggies as they grow. Good luck with the pickle experiment! — Pat S
Beet Pickles, Bread & Butter, Piccalilli, my mother’s mustard pickles, and the Cape Breton pickle Chow Chow – made with green tomatoes and a favourite on most everything but especially fish cakes. I don’t make a good dill pickle, so gave that up – some years they were good, but most years not. My neighbour always served her dill pickles with maple syrup on a stick in the spring, which is surprisingly delicious. Sometimes I cook fish just so I can have pickled beets beside it. Not a pickle but my hot pepper jelly – can’t keep it on my shelf!
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