TOTM: Pickles

[Molly53]

Pickling is a process of preserving food. Pickle or pickling may refer to: Tsukemono, Japanese pickled vegetables
Pickled cucumbers
Pickled onions
Pickled cucumbers
Indian pickle includes oil-based food preservation
Branston (food) and similar sweet pickle relishes
(all text highlighted in red are clickable links)

Tsukemono (漬物, literally "pickled things") are Japanese pickles. They are served with rice as okazu (side dish), with drinks as an otsumami (snack), as an accompaniment to or garnish for meals, and as a course in the kaiseki portion of a Japanese tea ceremony.

The most common kinds of tsukemono are pickled in salt or brine. This means that according to EU and USA trade code definitions for duty tax purposes Japanese 'pickles' are in fact 'preserved vegetables' and not 'pickles' as they are not primarily preserved in acetic acid or distilled vinegar. Soy sauce, miso, vinegar, rice bran (nuka), and sake lees (sake kasu) are also useful for pickling.

Takuan (daikon), Umeboshi (ume plum), turnip, cucumber, and Chinese cabbage are among the favorites to be eaten with rice as an accompaniment to a meal. Beni shoga (red ginger) is used as a garnish on okonomiyaki, takoyaki and yakisoba. Gari (ginger) is used between dishes of sushi to cleanse the palate. Rakkyōzuke (a type of onion) is often served with Japanese curry.

Traditionally, the Japanese prefer tsukemono they prepared themselves. Pickling was one of the fundamental ways to preserve food. Nowadays, tsukemono can be readily bought in a supermarket, but despite this many Japanese still make their own. Typically, all that is needed to make pickles is a container, salt, and something to apply pressure on top of the pickles.
Kabu -- Japanese Turnip Pickles
Japanese Takuan Pickle
Umeboshi
Sauerkraut Made from Chinese Cabbage
Beni Shoga -- Japanese Red Pickled Ginger
Pickled Ginger (gari)

Pickled onions are a world-wide popular pickled food, generally consisting of small onions pickled in a solution of vinegar and salt, often with other preservatives and flavorings. In the United Kingdom, they are made with malt vinegar and often eaten alongside fish and chips or as part of a ploughman's lunch.
Easy and Traditional British Pub Style Pickled Onions
Cebollas Curtidas (Mexican Pickled Onions)
Lime Pickled Red Onions
Crisp Pickled Silver Skin Onions (try these in your Gibson cocktail!)
Pickled Onions - Indian Home Style
Piaaz-Torshi - Persian Pickled Onions





The true history of the pickle is somewhat of a mystery. Although some believe it dates back to India 4030 years ago. The pickle has been mentioned in the Bible by Jesus and in the Old Testament books Numbers and Isaiah. Napoleon valued its health benefits for his army. George Washington had a collection of 476 different kinds of pickles. In 850 BC Aristotle praised the healing benefits of the pickle, and Thomas Jefferson wrote: “On a hot day in Virginia, I know nothing more comforting than a fine spiced pickle, brought up trout, like from the sparkling depths of the aromatic jar below the stairs of Aunt Sally’s cellar.”

So, what is all the fuss over a pickled cucumber you ask? Who knows…the popular pickle is everywhere. The crunchy tangy pickle is eaten out of jars, on our burgers, and served with our sandwiches. It is sliced, speared, whole, diced for relish, spicy, sour, and sweet. We just love the amazing, multi-talented pickle!

The health benefits of the pickle are incredible:
Raw, lacto-fermented vegetables (pickles) have good bacteria that inhibit the growth of harmful microbes in the intestines.

They have a higher concentration of vitamin C.

They help you absorb iron better.

Research shows that vinegar can help with weight loss.

PICKLE FACTS:
* Americans consume 26-billion pickles a year. That’s about nine pounds of pickles per person.

* More than half the cucumbers grown in the U.S. are made into pickles.

* Amerigo Vespucci, for whom America is named, was a pickle merchant before becoming an explorer.

* Pickling has been used to preserve food for almost 5,000 years.

* The pickle is both a fruit and a vegetable

No matter how you feel about pickles…they aren’t going anywhere.


[size=10]Sources:
Virtuowl