Pickled: Vegetables, Fruits, Roots, More--Preserving a World of Tastes and Traditions [Hardcover]

Lucy Norris (Author), Elizabeth Watt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2003

With the wide array of pickles already available on grocery store shelves, why would anyone bother with a preservation method most associated with our grandmothers? Simple: "Homemade pickles taste better!" In Pickled, author Lucy Norris collects more than 80 recipes of astonishing variety - simple to complex, some of which are ready to eat within 24 hours. And the recipe titles are as inviting as the stories that accompany them: Japanese Dragon Cucumber, Full Moon Cabbage with Pomegranate Juice, Smashed Radish, Green Mango Chit-chi-rias, and Good Mother's Salty Duck Egg. Asian pickles and Indian chutneys are found here, along with traditional American chow-chow and bread-and-butter pickles. Sprinkled throughout are the family stories and historical photos behind each recipe. With the continued proliferation of home vegetable gardens and local farmer's markets, a whole new generation is faced with the question of what to do with a bumper crop of cucumbers...or green beans...or carrots...or cabbage. Lucy Norris offers a tried and true selection of recipes perfect for beginning new family traditions.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

With even a casual reading of Lucy Norris's Pickled you will never again look the same way at cucumbers or cabbage. Or okra, or jalapeños, or eggplant for that matter. Welcome to the world of pickles and pickling. And, as Norris so ably demonstrates, it is one big world. She introduces Pickled with a bit of history and a lot of technique. This being a food preservation technology and all, it pays to be attentive up front here to working safely. Her chapters then break down as "Cucumbers"; "Cabbage and Other Leafy Greens"; "Root Vegetables, Eggplant, Tomatoes, Mushrooms and More"; "Mixed Vegetables"; "Fruit"; "Meat, Poultry, and Eggs"; "Seafood and Fish." For those who think pickles begin and end with kosher pickle spears, Norris opens the door to such delights as Shiozuke (Salt-Cured Japanese Cucumbers), or O-I Kimchi (Stuffed Cucumber Kimchi). And beyond the boundaries of the cucumber: Hot and Sour Pickled Cabbage, Pickled Ginger, Beguner Achar (Eggplant Pickle), Tomato Chutney, Romanian Pickled Peppers, and Green Mango Pickle. And that isn't even scratching the surface.

What truly comes clear is that pickling is not a difficult technology. With Norris's help and guidance you can give yourself permission to invent your very own pickling tradition, then fill the shelves of your pantry with unimaginably delicious treats, little surprises to pull out and bring to the table. Pickled truly is all about preserving a world of tastes and traditions. --Schuyler Ingle

About the Author

Lucy Norris is a graduate student in the Food Studies Department of New York University. A native of Texas, she has resided in New York since 1998. While still an NYU undergraduate, she became an intern with the NY Food Museum, a "museum without a home" that supports educational efforts and exhibitions concerning food history. As a result, Lucy developed the first annual Pickle Day in New York City, for which she received extensive press coverage.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Stewart, Tabori and Chang (May 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1584792779
• ISBN-13: 978-1584792772
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #908,633 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Continue the tradition - or start one of your own, May 21, 2003

By 

J. Wehry (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pickled: Vegetables, Fruits, Roots, More--Preserving a World of Tastes and Traditions (Hardcover)

In a world filled with celebrity chefs pasting their face on every possible cookbook, it's refreshing to see someone courageously return the spotlight to the real stars: food and you. Lucy Norris --thankfully-- assumes nothing in her writing. In addition to the clear recipes and personal stories, she includes information on pickle history, directions for safe canning, equipment lists, ingredients, resources, weights and measures. The range of recipes will encourage beginners and inspire the experienced chef alike. And many of the recipes can be eaten within 24 hours - perfect for entertaining, gift-giving, or the impatiently hungry. One word of advice: buy more than one copy of the book. You will find yourself wanting to share these recipes with your friends and family, and this book makes a perfect gift. They'll be thanking you for generations to come.

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Eye-Opening and Palate-Tickling, May 26, 2003

By 

Joey Horn (Singapore) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pickled: Vegetables, Fruits, Roots, More--Preserving a World of Tastes and Traditions (Hardcover)

I think this book is fabulous. So cool that someone finally did a really nice book on this subject. The pictures are gorgeous and you can read it like a novel with all the little stories of different people and their backgrounds and recipes -- or you can get right into the pickling process and end up with stuff that you sort of never really thought you could make. I tried the mustard pickles and they were better than anything i've had out of a jar and took about 5 seconds to make. The Haitian Pikliz is insanely spicy, but I can't seem to keep it in my fridge between me and my husband. I can already see a gift idea for lots of my friends...a jar of pickles plus the book. How excellent.

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Picklers Beware, February 1, 2008

By 

Purly Girly (Sierra Nevada, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pickled: Vegetables, Fruits, Roots, More--Preserving a World of Tastes and Traditions (Hardcover)

As I looked over the other reviews, I saw only 1 of the 5-star raters talked about making pickles from this book. I did make 2 recipes so far, the Groysman's Fresh Pickles with Black Currant Leaves and the Cornichons. The Groysmans was good, a fermented pickle meant to be eaten in 2 weeks. The Cornichons recipe is, quite frankly, the worst pickle I have ever made. Extremely salty and extremely vinegary. I would not make the mustard pickles since they require the use of saccharine. I feel like the author did not test these recipes thoroughly enough and considering how expensive the book is, I was very disappointed overall. With the amount of time and effort we put into home preserving, the authors should make every effort to have perfect recipes that have been tested several times. I may try another pickle recipe from this book, BUT ... if you like fresh pickles, a really nice book is Easy Japanese Pickling in 5 minutes to 1 day by Seiko Ogawa. For regular canned pickles, I think Small-Batch Preserving by Ellie Topp is a really good book, although it covers all sorts of home preserves, not just pickles.