It’s Pickling Season
Canadians love their pickles. Canada is one of the world’s leading pickle consumers with consumption reaching roughly 80,000 metric tons annually. Pickles are so popular there are “Pickle Fests” held across the country.
A from coast to coast, the recipes for pickles and related products such as sauces and relishes are wonderfully diverse with many that reflect the multicultural make up of our country. In the early days of settlement of this country, pickling was one of the preservation methods used to put fruits, vegetables, meat, and fish away for the winter. It was a method of survival by making seasonal foods last through harsh times when it was impossible to grow or harvest. Today pickling is more likely associated with maintaining family traditions or avoiding waste or supporting local agriculture.
A Little Pickle History
According to the PBS series “The History Kitchen,” the word pickle is derived from the Dutch word “pekel,” meaning brine. The simplest definition of a pickle is any perishable ingredient soaked in solutions (brines) that help prevent spoilage. Pickling is one of the oldest methods of food preparation. While, Archeologists and anthropologists believe that in as early as 2400 BC the ancient Mesopotamians were pickling, Davison (2018) in claims it was going on in China much earlier than that. Pickles may have changed history by preventing untold bouts of deadly scurvy, so explorer could make the long trips to discover new lands far away from Europe. For example, it has been claimed that the sailors on Columbus’ 1472 journey to America did not suffer from scurvy because the ship’s stocker, a man named Amerigo Vespucci, stored ample quantities of vitamin C-rich pickles on the ships and that helped to prevent scurvy.
According to the Pickle History Timeline, inventions in the 1850’s enhanced the safety of home pickling. A Scottish chemist by the name of James Young created paraffin wax, which helped to create a seal for food preserved in jars. Then in 1858 John Mason designed and patented the first Mason jar. Made out of heavier weight glass than normal jars, these were developed to withstand the high temperatures necessary for processing pickles. When the patent expired in 1879, manufacturers of such jars continued to use the term “Mason” on their product (see Preserving and Canning in Food History). Then in 1881 Alfred Bernardin invented the first metal tops to be used in commercial canning (see https://www.healthycanning.com/bernardin-history).
The Science of Pickling
There are two basic categories of pickles. Both methods imbue foods with a telltale lip-pursing tartness, and both allow foods to be stored for months.
Pickles Preserved in an Acidic Solution
Most commonly vinegar (acetic acid) is used. The vinegar along with salt, sugar, and often spices or herbs ensures the food lasts longer and gives the product a tangy, sharp flavor. The acid in the vinegar (5% acetic acid or greater) creates the right pH to prevent the growth of microorganisms. Although there are some refrigerator versions that will keep in that environment for a short period of time, most varieties are heat processed (boiling water bath canning). This makes it shelf stable. This method is suitable for a wide range of foods as well as combinations such as relish, chutney, ketchup, and salsa.
Pickles Soaked in a Salt Brine to Encourage Fermentation
The process of fermentation involves encouraging the growth of naturally occurring “good” bacteria that make a food less vulnerable to “bad” spoilage-causing bacteria. The “good” bacteria convert the food’s sugars into acids or alcohol, an environment unfriendly to “bad” bacteria. The process gives the food a unique sourness and frequently boosts its nutritional profile. Fermented pickles are prized for their health benefits because the salt draws out some of the water in the food and concentrates some of the nutrient. They contain “good bacteria” (probiotics) that aid digestion and contribute to gut health. This is only if the pickle is not pasteurized or heat processed. If the fermented product is processed in a boiling-water-bath canner or a pressure canner then the bacteria will be destroyed.
Food is covered in the salt brine, in a crock with a lid the keeps the food immersed. It is left at room temperature for several days. Common products are sauerkraut, kimchi, classic fermented cucumber pickles. Fermenting is often a family tradition, a process that has been followed for generations. It is part of their heritage. The process takes longer and requires careful attention. Pickles prepared by fermentation are not heated, therefore strict attention must be paid to procedure, cleanliness and hygiene.
The main dangers associated with fermented pickling include harmful bacterial contamination from improper salt ratios or unhygienic conditions, and mold or yeast spoilage if vegetables float above the brine. The concentration of salt, pH of the mixture and temperature of fermentation must all be controlled to ensure a good fermentation and to prevent the growth of undesirable bacteria. The BC Center for Disease Control recently release information on Fermented Foods Safety Guidance. If you are interested in pickling by fermentation, I recommend consulting it.
Pickles Preserved in an Acidic Solution (Vinegar Method) Most Popular for Home Cooks
This cookbook is a compilation of recipes from the Vancouver Sun’s Edith Adam Homemaker Service circa 1970. There are over four hundred recipes submitted by readers or developed by the in-house home economists. Only 3 are for fermented pickles. There are recipes for pickling almost every vegetable and fruit imaginable. Probably the most unique would be Cherry Olives (see https://bcfoodhistory.ca/cherry-olives/), which are described in the British Columbia Women’s Institute Centennial Cook Book (1958) as “a typical British Columbia recipe” (p. 207).
What gives pickles their crunch?
If you remember your high school science you might recognize the role of osmosis. This passage of water, occurs because of the tendency of substances to move through a membrane—like a cucumber skin—from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration. In the case of dill pickles, the salty brine solution has a lower water concentration than the water inside the fresh vegetables so water will flow out of them making the pickles crunchier.
Artisan Pickle Makers
British Columbia is home to several local artisan pickle makers. From the Lower Mainland to Vancouver Island to the BC Interior small business making pickles are popping up. Check out your neighbourhood, local farmers markets, the internet to see what is available.
Or you can make your own. So far this year I’ve done dills (cucumbers and beans), zucchini relish, antipasto (a wonderful vegetarian recipe from Bernardin), and salsa. Still more to come!
References
Behera, S. S., El Sheikha, A. F., Hammami, R., & Kumar, A. (2020). Traditionally fermented pickles: How the microbial diversity associated with their nutritional and health benefits? Journal of Functional Foods, 70, 103971.
Bernardin Healthy Canning – https://www.healthycanning.com/
BC Center for Disease Control – Fermented Foods Safety Guidance – https://www.bccdc.ca/health-professionals/professional-resources/fermented-foods
Davison, J. (2018). Pickles: A global history. Reaktion Books.
Exploratorium – https://annex.exploratorium.edu/cooking/pickles/index.html
McCord Stewart Museum – Saving the summer harvest: Pickling and preserving – https://www.musee-mccord-stewart.ca/en/blog/pickling-preserving/
New York Food Museum – http://www.nyfoodmuseum.org/_ptime.htm
Pickle Fest Canada – https://picklefestcanada.com/
