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

~ (Author) "IN CORVALLIS, OREGON, Chinese scientists arriving for a two-week stay opened suitcases full of pickles and dry noodles..." (more)
Key Phrases: store the cooled jars, nonreactive cap, brine bag, United States, Middle Eastern, Mary Randolph (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Pickling food seems like a form of culinary alchemy to most of us. Or we recall it as something grandmothers used to do, laboring over heaps of vegetables and huge, steaming kettles to turn out jars of jewel-like pickles and piquant chutneys.

In the first chapter of The Joy of Pickling, Linda Ziedrich demystifies the pickling process. She explains the difference between fresh pickles made with vinegar and longer-keeping, salt-preserved, fermented pickles. Her detailed explanation of canning methods, including low-temperature pasteurization, shows how to avoid risky problems.

After reading the opening of this pickle primer, go straight to the "Quick" and "Freezer Pickle" chapters and discover how easy it is to make Green Olives with Lemon and Thyme and Freezer Dill Slices without any sterilizing, boiling, or safety issues. In addition, you get to enjoy them within 24 hours. When you are more confident, let Ziedrich guide you through pickling Spicy Broccoli, Pig Ears, Korean Kimchi, and Irish Corned Beef. Her three recipes for pickled eggs are also bound to please. --Dana Jacobi

From Library Journal

Hassol, who has a small jam-making business on Cape Cod, writes evocatively about her life there: her friends and family, the guests at her bed-and-breakfast, and the business she started several years ago. She provides 70 recipes for delicious small-batch jams and jellies, along with some breads and muffins to go with them, grouped into chapters with titles like "Nonnie and the Elderberries" and "Chasing the Wild Cranberry." Ziedrich, who might be called a pickle fanatic, offers a detailed and informative guide to pickles of all sorts, including kimchi and others from Asia, chutneys and salsas, and "freezer pickles," along with traditional favorites like Half-Sours by the Quart. She writes readably and knowledgeably about a variety of topics, and her varied and unusual recipes should tempt readers into trying at least a pickle or two, or more. Anyone interested in preserving will welcome both of these books, which are recommended for most collections.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Harvard Common Press (October 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558321330
• ISBN-13: 978-1558321335
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #168,246 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reliable Recipes! Not too Exotic!, September 6, 2001

By	Little Dorrit "ldorrit" (WA state) - See all my reviews

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.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for small quantities, December 11, 2000

By A Customer

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.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent! With great variety., February 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Joy of Pickling: 200 Flavor-Packed Recipes for All Kinds of Produce from Garden or Market (Hardcover)

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.