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The World's Best Pickles |
by:
Janette Blackwell |
I knew they wereworld’s best picklesmoment I tasted one. That first taste took place around oneninefivezero, and I’ve tastedlot of pickles since, ampickle hound in fact, but I’ve never come across anything else as good.
They came to us by way of my Uncle Ronald Smith, who waselectrician inBitterroot Valley of Montana where I grew up. One day he was doing electrical work forBulgarian family, and they rewarded him withsample pickle. He liked it so much he gotrecipe and gave it to his wife Gladys, who gave it to Grandma Glidewell, who made it and gave some to me, and I thought I’d died and gone to pickle heaven.
And thus, although they becameold Glidewell family recipe, they are reallyold Bulgarian family recipe. The Bulgarian family, whose name I do not know, told Uncle Ronald that in Bulgaria, whenfirst heavy frost killstomato vines, they put all their end-of-garden vegetables –- including those green tomatoes -- intobarrel, fillbarrel with pickling brine, and eatbest pickles inworld all winter.
It turns out, though, thatpickles’ travel from Bulgaria toU.S. was only one leg ofmore ancient journey. Because I mentioned them toIranian woman, and she said, “My family has always made pickles like that! Exactly like that, except we add tarragon.”
Iran beingnew name forancient kingdom of Persia, who knows how many centuries these pickles go back?
There’s more: I later lostrecipe’s brine proportions. Gave some thought to its travels between Persia and Bulgaria, looked inArmenian-American cookbook (Treasured Armenian Recipes, published in oneninefournine byArmenian General Benevolent Union) and there they were, under “Mixed Pickles No. two.” Turns outworld’s best Armenian pickles are just likeworld’s best Bulgarian and Persian and American pickles, except they include dill, and sometimes green beans and coriander seed.
So this isold, old recipe belonging towhole human family.
END-OF-GARDEN PICKLES
Vegetables:
Green tomatoes*, cut in half or quartered if large
Carrots, peeled and cut into strips
Cauliflower, separated into small florets
Baby onions, peeled, or larger onions halved or quartered
Green peppers, cut into broad lengthwise slices
Garlic, two peeled cloves per quart jar
Medium-hot peppers, two small whole peppers per quart
You can also add unpeeled and unwaxed small cucumbers, zucchini, or lightly cooked green beans, though we never did. The hot peppers add adventure and zest, but if you prefer to save your tears for really sad occasions, why not?
Amounts and proportions depend on what vegetables you have and how many quarts you plan to make. You don’t have to havegreen tomatoes, andother things can be bought ingrocery store. But you do needvariety of vegetables, and you have to haveonions and garlic, or you won’t haveworld’s best pickles. You will haveworld’s so-so pickles, and that would beshame.
Armenian-Persian-Bulgarian Brine
To one quart of water add one/four cup pickling salt (salt that isn’t iodized), and one cup of white distilled vinegar. Bringmixture toboil. This is enough brine to cover two quarts of mixed pickles, withlittle left over.
Processing
Followcanning instructions ingood, standard cookbook. Or, if you plan to eat them right away, packvegetables into clean quart jars, pour over themhot brine, and keeppickles covered inrefrigerator. Some ofmore impressionable vegetables, like zucchini, will be ready to eat in only two or three days.
Aboutauthor:
Go STEAMIN’ DOWN THE TRACKS WITH VIOLA HOCKENBERRY,storytelling cookbook -- and find Montana country cooking, nostalgic stories, and gift ideas -- at Janette Blackwell’s Food and Fiction, http://foodandfiction.com/Entrance.htmlOr visit her Delightful Food Directory, http://delightfulfood.com/main.html
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