Reviews of The Joy of Pickling: 200 Flavor-Packed Recipes for All Kinds of Produce from Garden or Market
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When the garden yields up a surplus of fresh produce, or when the supermarket or farmstand has prices too low to resist, that's when it's time to make pickles. In fact, as Linda Ziedrich amply shows in these 200 easy-to-prepare recipes, you can make pickles any time of the year (is there a more imaginative gift to give at Christmas or other holidays?) in batches large or small, with just about any food you can imagine.
Discover the abundant joys of pickling with:
* Step-by-step instructions, illustrations, charts, and troubleshooting guides
*Up-to-date information about equipment, supplies, and food safety
* The very best recipes for the classic pickles, plus dozens of new creations
* A whole world of pickles -- American, European, Asian, Middle Eastern, and more
* Pickles for canning, and no-fuss, quick-gratification pickles for the fridge
"By working a special magic on an abundance of produce, Linda Ziedrich has transformed what might have become a lost art into something both necessary and delightful. This is a book about applying simple methods to simple ingredients to produce tastes and textures that are both unexpected and extraordinary" --From the foreword by Christopher Kimball
I had checked this book out of the library so many times that I finally decided to buy it. The book covers pickles fermented in brine as well as preserved in vinegar, miso and soy sauce. There is also quick and frozen pickles. Our favorites are the really quick dill pickles, Jardiniere and Giardiniera (we made both in order to compare them, both are pretty and delicious), and the classic barbeque sauce. The author includes recipes from Russia, Turkey, Korea, and Japan, among others. Sauerkraut, kimchi, and chutney recipes are included. And her recipes actually work, which is the main reason to get the book. No worries about a lot of preparation for what turns out to be a bad recipe. I also have the Blue Ball book of canning, which is also very good, but this book has a greater variety of recipes with clear and accurate descriptions of the product. This is the best book on pickles.
I never realized you could pickle so many things from your garden, in so many different ways! I've had so much fun with this book the past 2 summers. I've put up the prettiest jars of cucumber slices, dill cukes, dilly beans, salsa, pickled sweet pepper rings and whole peppers. I even pickled grapes from the supermarket (in 2 different ways). I have a crock of fermented dills still in my fridge, next to a couple of quart jars of hot sauce. I'm starting to plan my veggie garden so I can try more of her recipies. Next fall, I want to make sweet pumpkin pickles!
Her introductory section on canning is excellent, as she explains both the hows and the whys and de-mystifies the process for us novices. If you don't want to mess with canning jars, take a look at the book anyway, as lots of the pickles are meant to be eaten right away, while some get stored on the pantry shelf or the refrigerator or even the freezer. The way she writes makes you want to try every recipe -- and to be pretty sure you can do it, too!
