Pickles in the News: Salon Jumps on the Trend!

Today's Salon.com highlights the expense of artisanal ingredients embraced by the current pickling trend (if you can call a process that has been around for thousands of years a "trend").

Has pickling evolved from a necessity to an indulgence a la cucina povera? I'll ponder that over a martini with pickled sea beans ($14 for 1/4 pound, raw at Whole Foods). More to come tomorrow.

Pickles in the News: Produce Preservation Is Hot

Trend Central, a self-described, "marketing Consultancy focused on Gen X, Gen Y and Tweens," has declared that canning is hot--not 212 degrees, boiling-water hot--cha-ching, marketable hot.

But you already knew that because you read pickle girl.

Still, it's exciting to see what started as an urban locavore movement gain recognition as a more mass-market trend.

Out of economic necessity, a commitment to a greener lifestyle, and a growing interest in the "throwback" comforts of yesteryear, chefs and home cooks are passionately delving into what is becoming a handcrafted food revolution. Their new approach to old-fashioned methods is yielding something altogether new.

As the current "stay-home economy" dovetails with a generation's growing commitment to sustainability and interest in handcrafted food, modern “foodies” are looking for fresh ways to sate their sophisticated palates.

After all, pickles are among the most democratic of edibles. Power to the pickle!

Pickle Passport: Torshi in Tehrangeles

I don't think I realized exactly how blissful my Southern California childhood was until I embarked on a more chaotic, far less idyllic lifestyle in New York City. Aside from riding my bike to the beach and hiking in the Santa Monica Mountains, the additional benefit to being raised in L.A. was growing up with kids who had emigrated from Iran.

Sleepover parties meant homemade Persian dinners of pomegranate chicken, tah dig, strained yogurt, and torshi--tangy, vinegar-cured pickles. My open-minded parents even let me play hooky to spend Persian New Year with my Iranian classmates. It never occurred to me that Iran was anything other than a place of rich history, spectacular beauty, and complex, regional cuisines. (At that age, I didn't fully understand why my friends were forced to flee from Iran, leaving behind everything they owned.)

I have been trying to get to this closed country for the past two years. This week, as Iran is especially top of mind, I am hopeful it will return to the peaceful country it once was for my friends' parents--and that my Iranian adventure will soon become a reality.

In the meantime, I have just returned home with a round-up of my favorite Persian markets in Tehrangeles. I encourage you to explore this side of L.A. and invest $10 in culinary souvenirs that may be new to you: Pickled sour grapes, chickpea cookies, and cardamom tea are all easy to slip into luggage.

Star Market (nan-e nokhodchi, cardamom chickpea cookies)
12146 Santa Monica Blvd
West L.A.
310.820.6064

Mashti Malone's Ice Cream (rosewater saffron-pistachio sorbet)
1525 North La Brea Avenue
West Hollywood
866.767.3423

Rose Market (wall of pickles)
1387 Westwood Boulevard (this stretch is the main artery for Persian culture in L.A.)
West L.A.
310.477.5533

Q Market and Produce
17261 Vanowen Street
Van Nuys
818.345.4251

Photo courtesy of flickr.

Pickles in the News: pickle girl in the News!

Thank you, Mother Earth News!

A huge, briney THANKS from pickle girl to "Mother Earth News" for publishing the pickled rhubarb recipe!

Chef Recipe: Johnny Iuzzini's Rhubarb Pickles

While I am on my pickled rhubarb high (thank you, Mother Earth News), I thought I would share another variation of this soon-to-be-classic condiment. New York magazine's seasonal recipes are always intriguing. I am not a competitive pickler; Testing as many recipes as I can only makes me a better pickle girl. Pickling takes practice, people--and apparently an abuse of alliteration.

1 lb. ripe rhubarb
1/2 cup sherry vinegar
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1 cup plus 1 tbs. honey
3 tbs. grenadine
1 tbs. coarse salt
2 star anise

*Note: if you can find persimmon vinegar at a Korean market, use it: Add 1/2 cup to the recipe, and reduce the amount of the sherry and rice vinegars to 1/4 cup each.

Trim the rhubarb stalks, discarding the coarse inch or so at each end. Discard any leaves.

(1) Peel the rhubarb, and (2) cut the stalks into neat batons about 1 1/2 inches long and 1/4 inch wide. Place in flat-bottomed casserole. Put the vinegars, honey, grenadine, salt, and star anise in a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Turn off the heat and let cool for about 5 minutes. (3) Pour over the rhubarb and cover with plastic wrap. Let cool to room temperature. Taste the pickles for texture. If they’re too crisp for your taste, drain the liquid into a clean saucepan, bring back to a simmer, let it cool for a few minutes, then pour it over the rhubarb again, with the star anise. Store in the refrigerator in the liquid. Serve cold. Note: Iuzzini serves with panna cotta, but the pickles are also a nice accompaniment to cheese. (Adapted from Dessert Fourplay: Sweet Quartets From a Four-Star Pastry Chef, by Johnny Iuzzini and Roy Finamore; Clarkson Potter, 2008.)

Recipe courtesy of New York magazine.

Good for What Ales You

Probiotic products are outgrowing their shelves at places like Whole Foods and Wild Oats. But why pay upwards of $10 for kefir when there is free pickle juice in the fridge? For thousands of years, lacto-fermented foods have aided digestion, helping to break down carbohydrates and fat to create symbiotic bacteria in the digestive tract. Lacto-fermented pickle juice does just that.

Perhaps this explains why pickles are part of the daily regimen around the world: kimchi cuts the fat in Korean bulgogi; tsukemono are served in between the nearly 14 courses of a traditional Japanese kaiseki dinner; and sauerkraut helps us digest the endless platters of bratwurst and knockwurst at beer halls in Germany.

Stay tuned as I explore lacto-fermented foods and beverages in greater depth over the coming weeks! (For now, I will eat my pickles.)

Swooning for Crispy Pork Belly with Baby Kirby Pickles

Photos: Nina Bachinsky-Gimmel

While on the hunt for an 18th-century farmhouse in Columbia County, Ned and I had the good fortune of stopping in Hudson for what is now our favorite dish EVER.

Special thanks to Jeffrey Gimmel and Nina Bachinsky-Gimmel, chefs and proprietors of Swoon--a charmer that turns out impeccably flavorful, handcrafted dishes showcasing Hudson Valley fare. Jeff and Nina have graciously shared their recipe for this outstanding new menu item.

Ned and I are now adding "within a short drive from Swoon" to our weekend house wishlist.

pickled baby Kirby cucumbers
1. Cut baby Kirby cucumbers lengthwise into quarters
2. Slice and soak cukes in salted ice water for 30 minutes
3. Steep in a 3-2-1-1 brine: water, white vin, salt, and sugar

how to assemble the dish
1. Braise pork belly for four hours in red wine.
2. When the meat is cooled, reduce the braising liquid with 2 Tbs. soy sauce, 2 Tbs. rice wine and a dash of sambal.
3. Cut the pork belly into one-inch wide strips, dust with cornstarch and deep fry until crispy.
4. Toss in the reduction with scallions, peanuts, beans sprouts, cilantro, and pickles.

Ode to the Chuckle Patch (Or, How to Pickle Rhubarb for 100 Wedding Guests)

Once upon a time, in a loft perched high above downtown Manhattan, there grew a chuckle patch.

This patch was the daytime home to three of the giggliest (and dare I say, hardest-working) girls, who made the office the most fun place ever.

For years, the chuckle patch was abuzz with creativity and laughter, but one day, the chuckles disappeared ....

Located across from the World Trade Center, the patch fell upon hard, chuckle-less times. Countless drinks, lots of desk yoga, and an acquisition later, the chuckles slowly returned.

Though we now spend our days in separate patches, the chuckles abound--even if we are covered in sticky syrup when pickling 25 pounds of locally grown rhubarb for Rachel’s wedding.

piles of rhubarb + 96 canning jars + six cab rides (including one that nearly sacrificed said jars to the taxi-hood gods) + a bride with a cold + a former-TV art director-turned-Sayulita-luxury-home-builder + a little alchemy = endless chuckles

pickled rhubarb
1 lb. rhubarb
2 cups apple cider vinegar
1 ½ cups sugar
1 Tb. Kosher salt
1 ½-inch knob ginger, thinly sliced
Small handful dried chili peppers
1 tsp. cloves
2 whole allspice

1. Boil vinegar, sugar, salt, ginger and spices until sugar and salt dissolve (approximately 5 minutes after coming to a boil).
2. Wash and cut rhubarb into batons – long enough to fill the jar (we used half pint jars and cut stalks into 4” pieces)
3. Pack rhubarb into sterilized jars with a slice of ginger, one small dried chili, a few cloves, and an allspice berry.
4. Pour hot liquid over jars, screw on lids, and allow to cool.
5. Refrigerate for up to one month.

Note: It’s best to treat rhubarb as a refrigerator pickle, as the canning process will soften the fruit to mush.

Serve with:
• Hard cheeses, such as English farmhouse varieties
• Prosciutto and Marcona almonds
• Foie gras or pate
• Arugula and feta, tossed with olive oil and sherry vinegar

Finocchio Piccolo: Piccolo Pickle-Ohs

Inspired by Paul Virant--the pickle guy?--and borrowing the use of star anise and citrus peel from a Martha Stewart recipe, these pickled baby fennel are going to make squisiti antipasti, come fall.

3 small bunches baby fennel
1 qt. white vinegar
1 cup water
6 Tbs. kosher salt
peel of one lemon
2 whole star anise



1. Wash fennel well, making sure to pry open stalks to release dirt.

2. Trim fennel tops and pack baby fennel, lemon peel and star anise into one sterilized quart-size jar.

3. Boil vinegar, liquid and salt until salt is dissolved (five minutes).

4. Pour hot liquid over fennel, close lid and process in a hot water canner for 10 minutes.

Salt-n-Pepa Here

The following was adapted from the pickled hot chiles in Gourmet, 2002.

These pickles ain't for everybody.
Only the sexy people.

1 Qt. white vinegar
1 1/2 cups water
6 Tbs. kosher salt
1 lb small hot chiles (5 cups)
5 garlic cloves
1 tsp. dill seed
1 tsp. celery seed
1 tsp. black mustard seed
1 tsp. Wynad peppercorns
1 strip lemon peel