Customer Reviews

The Joy of Pickling: 200 Flavor-Packed Recipes for All Kinds of Produce from Garden or Market

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
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I love this cookbook! Right now my garden is full to overflowing with ripening veggies and for the last few years that I've had this cookbook, I've worn it out this time of year. Why do I love it? The recipes have proven to be very reliable and by that I mean that every recipe I've tried from it has not needed much if any 'fine tuning' and the results have been consistently terrific.

I hate it when a cookbook includes too many exotic ingredients that are hard to find in my very rural area, and the only thing I've found difficult to obtain that this book calls for is white wine vinegar. I've solved that problem by asking the nearest grocer to order a case for me! I use so many of the recipes in this book that I'll easily use a case in a year or two.

Favorites from the book? The Szechuan Vegetable pickle recipe that lets me take a variety of our produce and layer them together with a simple salt/water/spices mixture, leave at room temp and then store in refrigerator. They get better and better and are super served as a side dish with rice.

I've also got to give rave reviews to the fruit pickle recipes. The sweetness and depth of flavor of the pickled pears and other fruit are a real treat to add to holiday meals. I just harvested lots of winter squash and will begin making the sweet pickled pumpkin and squash recipe today. Pickling and preserving are truly fulfilling acts and thanks to this great book, they are also easy and delicious.

If you've never pickled anything, this book won't confuse you with anything but the simple basics of preserving. If you are a seasoned preserver, you'll find some wonderful new ways to keep that harvest.

This is a great book for new pickling ideas, and the quantities are reasonable for trying new things out (you dont need bushels and buckets for most of them. The blueberry preserves and pickles are great, peach chutney is wonderful, and the asparagus is now a family favorite. The home made catsup is a bit of work, but worth it.

Linda has brought a wonderful variety of pickling recipes from around the world together in one book. The latest USDA pocedures and processes are used and described in great detail. Which I think is just wonderful. From reading her little notes on these recipes you just know she has tried these recipes her self and you just can't wait to try them out. Just thinking about my next project gets my mouth watering. This is a must have in the preserving kitchen.

A very well done book with recipes from Germany, Russia, Korea and many others countries as well as the USA. The best I've found with the most recipes.

This book is wonderful addition to my cookbook collection. I'm very picky about cookbooks but the minute I got this one home from the library I was hooked. I ordered my own copy the next day. I love the chapter on "Unique Pickles of the Far East". My fridge is never without Korean or Mrs. Kim's pickled garlic; it's so convenient to pluck a peeled, pickled clove or two out of a jar when a meal needs garlic. The chapter on "Quick Pickles" was made for impatient souls like me, these pickles are ready in 2 days or so. There is also a great chapter on chutneys and relishes. Yum! There are so many pickle recipes besides the obvious cukes and green beans. "Joy of Pickling" includes prunes, shrimp, mangoes, purslane, Jicama and many other surprises.

If your garden (or friend's garden or farmer's market) runneth over, and you like pickled foods, you won't know how you lived without this book.

As a volunteer educator of food preservation, specializing in pickling and sauerkraut for the state extension service, I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn the art of pickling, or the experienced "pickler" who wants to try new recipes! The recipes are accurate and easy to follow and the ingredients are readily available. The author includes a large variety of different types of pickles, and different fruits/vegetables that you probably wouldn't have thought of pickling. One of the best all around pickling books that I have seen, and I have quite a library of cookbooks!

I am a culinary student, and discovered this book in my library, (researching a paper on watermelon pickles) and found not one, but -3- recipes, I also enjoyed the 'commentary' giving information on the recipe and customs/triviata. Very very well done- so much so that I came to amazon.com to purchase a copy for home!

If "Making Sauerkraut and Pickled Vegetables at Home" is an introductory guide, think of "The Joy of Pickling" as the definitive handbook of pickles and pickling.

The book starts out with a 30 page primer on the art and science of pickling. All of the mysteries of pickling methods are revealed here. This chapter alone is worth the price of the book, but there is so much more.

The next chapter is 44 pages devoted to the healthiest of all pickles, the lactic-fermented vegetable. Cucumbers are here, as you would suspect, as are radishes, turnips, cucumber kimchi, mustard greens, cherry tomatoes, apples, bean sprouts, and a Turkish mixed-pickle.

On page 63 is one of many education side-bar articles. This one is about "the perfect pickle pot". An old Chinese design with a built in airlock. You can expect this sort of educational experience all the way through the book. I have never before seen a recipe book as a "page turner" before picking this up.

There is a section on "fresh" pickles. These are pickles that are not fermented but instead are preserved with vinegar. This topic is exhausted with nearly 100 pages of recipes and insight.

Next up is my favorite section. Cabbages! I have long been a fan of kimchi but it is so expensive at the local grocery. Now I make it by the gallon. (For which my wife is thankful of the walk-in pantry.) There are also German sauerkraut recipes, Chinese sour cabbage, in fact, more versions of pickled cabbage than I ever knew existed, and I have loved every one of them.

Now it may sound like a lot to cram into a single book, but to be honest, there are six sections I haven't even covered.

Chapter 5 is devoted to pickles from the far east.
Chapter 6 is a collection of sweet pickles.
Chapter 7 serves your instant gratification for quick pickles. (Two days or less)
Chapter 8 "Freezer Pickles" Pickles without heat or fuss.
Chapter 9 Chutneys, salsas, and relishes.
Chapter 10 Pickles meat, fish and eggs.

While I myself am partial to the fermented pickles, I have to say that this book is a wonderful resource for all types of pickles. If you make pickles, this book should certainly be in your pantry, right next to your pickling crock!

I am on an eternal quest for resources I can use for pickling, and I found this book right to the point. Pickling can seem scary, and it is the responsibility of the book author to make it seem less so. Linda Ziedrich covers the essentials with professional focus, enough so that I've gone out and begun my pickling career, instead of just having a pretty book on the shelf about the subject.

Food writer Elliot Essman's other reviews and food articles are available at www.stylegourmet.com

I was kind of a newbie at canning when I bought this book. I had only tried it 2 or 3 times before I got this book. It seemed to be a rather confusing and frustrating process. I read some of the other cookbooks aimed at veterans and was just confused. They would say things such as "adjust the jar rings"--I'm thinking "adjust from what, to what?". This author is kind enough to be clear. She says something like: "screw on the jar rings until they are tight, but not as tight as they could be if you apply force". Now that makes sense to me. I've made a few recipes from this book now. The instructions are very clear, and all of the things I made have turned out perfect. And while I love the canning recipes, I REALLY love the section on freezer pickles. I get rave reviews every time I bring the Lime-Mint Freezer Pickles to an event, and they couldn't be easier to make. And for the advanced picklers out there, this book has plenty of really interesting, unique recipes to try. I highly recommend this book for all skill levels!