Pickling is the process of preserving or extending the shelf life of food by either anaerobic fermentation in brine or immersion in vinegar. The pickling procedure typically affects the food's texture and flavor. The resulting food is called a pickle, or, if named, the name is prefaced with the word "pickled". Foods that are pickled include vegetables, fruits, mushrooms, meats, fish, dairy and eggs.
Pickling solutions are typically highly acidic, with a pH of 4.6 or lower, and high in salt, preventing enzymes from working and micro-organisms from multiplying. Pickling can preserve perishable foods for months, or in some cases years. Antimicrobial herbs and spices, such as mustard seed, garlic, cinnamon or cloves, are often added. If the food contains sufficient moisture, a pickling brine may be produced simply by adding dry salt. For example, sour cabbage, sauerkraut, and kimchi are produced by salting the vegetables to draw out excess water. Natural fermentation at room temperature, by lactic acid bacteria, produces the required acidity. Other pickles are made by placing vegetables in vinegar. Unlike the canning process, pickling (which includes fermentation) does not require that the food be completely sterile. The acidity or salinity of the solution, the temperature of fermentation, and the exclusion of oxygen determine which microorganisms dominate, and determine the flavor of the end product.McGee, Harold (2004). On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen. New York: Scribner, pp. 291–296. .
When both salt concentration and temperature are low, Leuconostoc mesenteroides dominates, producing a mix of acids, alcohol, and aroma compounds. At higher temperatures Lactobacillus plantarum dominates, which produces primarily lactic acid. Many pickles start with Leuconostoc, and change to Lactobacillus with higher acidity.
History Ancient history Pickling with vinegar likely originated in ancient Persia and Mesopotamia around 2400 BCE. There is archaeological evidence of cucumbers being pickled in the Tigris Valley in 2030 BCE. Pickling vegetables in vinegar continued developing in the Middle East region before spreading to the Maghreb, Sicily, and Spain. From Spain, it spread to the Americas. Fermented salt pickling reportedly originated in China.
Textual and archaeological evidence shows that food preservation by salting and pickling was practiced in the Greek and Roman world.
Age of Exploration Pickling was used as a way to preserve food for out-of-season use and for long journeys, especially by sea. Salt pork and salt beef were common staples for sailors before the days of steam engines. Although the process was invented to preserve foods, pickles are also made and eaten because people enjoy the resulting flavors. Pickling may also improve the nutritional value of food by introducing B vitamins produced by bacteria.
Etymology The English term "pickle" first appears around 1400 CE. It originates from the Middle English pikel, a spicy sauce served with meat or fish, borrowed from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German pekel ("brine") but later referred to preserving in brine or vinegar.
The Persian term "torshi" (Persian: ترشی) applies to pickled vegetables in many Middle Eastern, Caucasian, Slavic, and Balkan cuisines. The term is ultimately derived from Persian 'sour' (Persian: ترش). This Persian word is borrowed with minor variants in many languages: Kurdish Tirşîn, tirşî, trshin; Turkish and Azerbaijani ; ; Bosnian, Croatian, Montenegrin, Serbian, Macedonian, Bulgarian turšija/туршија/туршия turshiya; ; Judeo-Spanish .
In world cuisines
Asia
Western Asia In Iran, Armenia, Turkey, Arab countries, Northern Africa, the Balkans, and some other countries in West Asia, pickles that are called torshi, or mekhallel are a pickled mix of cucumbers, and turnips, onions, carrots, olives or other regional vegetables. Toursi is a traditional appetizer (meze) to go with arak, rakı, ouzo, oghi, tsipouro, and rakia. In some regions, notably in Turkey (turşu suyu), the pickle juice or torshi water is a popular beverage. In 2021, Turkey's pickle exports reached the level of $300 million.
Iran has hundreds of types of torshi (), according to regional customs and different events. In some families, no meal is considered complete without a bowl of torshi on the table.
In Armenia and Armenian cuisine, it is called t’tu () often eaten as an appetizer. Vegetables used include cabbage, cucumber, tomato, carrot, cauliflower, beetroot, eggplant, bell pepper, garlic, onion and turnip, often preserved in brine or vinegar and spiced with garlic, herbs, or chili. It is served alongside other Armenian appetizers like topik, lavash, aboukh/basturma, sujukh and matsoon. It is also often used in wraps such as the .
In Egypt, pickled vegetables are referred to as both torshi () and mekhalel (). Both terms refer to all varieties of pickled vegetables, including carrots, cucumbers, turnips, garlic, onions, cauliflower, and hot peppers, preserved in a vinegar-based brine infused with spices such as nigella seeds, black pepper, and bay leaves. It is ubiquitous on Egyptian tablespreads, especially for breakfast.Cabbage, carrots, and bell peppers pickled in vinegar are commonly consumed in Israel. Pickled vegetables are considered pareve, meaning they contain no meat or dairy and can be eaten with either while adhering to Jewish dietary laws.
South Asia
South Asia has a large variety of pickles (known as achar (अचार, اچار) in Nepali, Assamese, Bengali, Hindi (अचार), Punjabi, Gujarati, Urdu (اچار) uppinakaayi in Kannada, lonacha (लोणचं) in Marathi, uppilittathu or achar in Malayalam, oorukai in Tamil, pacchadi (పచ్చడి) or ooragaya (ఊరగాయ) in Telugu, which are mainly made from varieties of mango, lemon, lime, gongura (a sour leafy shrub), tamarind, Indian gooseberry (amla), and chilli. Vegetables such as eggplant, carrots, cauliflower, tomato, bitter gourd, green tamarind, ginger, garlic, onion, and citron are also occasionally used. These fruits and vegetables are mixed with ingredients such as salt, spices, and vegetable oils. The pickling process is completed by placing filled jars in the sun to mature.
In Pakistan, pickles are known locally as achaar (in Urdu اچار) and come in a variety of flavours. A popular item is the traditional mixed Hyderabadi pickle, prepared from an assortment of fruits (most notably mangoes) and vegetables blended with selected spices. Although the origin of the word is ambiguous, the word āchār is widely considered to be of Persian origin. Āchār in Persian is defined as 'powdered or salted meats, pickles, or fruits, preserved in salt, vinegar, honey, sugar or syrup.'
In Sri Lanka, a date and shallot pickle, achcharu, is traditionally prepared from carrots, chilli powder, shallots and ground dates mixed with garlic, crushed fresh ginger, green chilis, mustard seeds and vinegar, and left to sit in a clay pot.
Indian pickles are mostly prepared in three ways: salt/brine, oil, and vinegar, with mango pickle being popular among all.
Southeast Asia Singapore, Indonesian and Malaysian pickles, called acar are typically made out of cucumber, carrot, bird's eye chilies, and shallots, these items being seasoned with vinegar, sugar and salt. Fruits, such as papaya and pineapple, are also sometimes pickled. In Malaysia, it's common for pickles to be made in brine (usually made with sugar or starchy water to provide the best environment for fermentation). These pickles, known locally as jeruk, are made from unripe mango, papaya, pineapple and lime. Eaten with a meal, or on its own as a snack, jeruk is especially popular among children.
In the Philippines, pickling is a common method of preserving food, with many commonly eaten foods pickled, traditionally within large earthen jars. The process is known as buro or binuro. Pickling was a common method of preserving a large variety of foods such as fish throughout the archipelago before the advent of refrigeration, but its popularity is now confined to vegetables and fruits. Atchara is primarily made out of julienned green papaya, carrots, and shallots, seasoned with cloves of garlic and vinegar; but could include ginger, bell peppers, white radishes, cucumbers or bamboo shoots. Pickled unripe mangoes or burong mangga, unripe tomatoes, guavas, jicama, bitter gourd and other fruit and vegetables still retain their appeal. Siling labuyo, sometimes with garlic and red onions, is also pickled in bottled vinegar and is a staple condiment in Filipino cuisine.
In Vietnamese cuisine, vegetable pickles are called ("salted vegetables") or ("sour vegetables"). or is made from a variety of fruits and vegetables, including , eggplant, Napa cabbage, kohlrabi, carrots, radishes, papaya, cauliflower, and . made from carrots and radishes are commonly added to sandwiches. is made by pressing and sun-drying vegetables such as and gai choy. , made from jackfruit, is a specialty of Nghệ An and Hã Tĩnh provinces.
In Burma, tea leaves are pickled to produce lahpet, which has strong social and cultural importance. Lahpet thoke (tea leaf salad) is a popular dish made with fermented tea leaves, garlic, peanuts, sesame seeds, dried shrimp, and other seasonings. It is often served as a delicacy at social gatherings and traditional ceremonies. The tradition of pickling tea leaves dates back centuries and is unique to Burmese cuisine.
East Asia
A wide variety of foods are pickled throughout East Asia. The pickles are often sweet, salty, and/or spicy and preserved in sweetened solutions or oil.
China is home to first documented origins of fermented salt pickles, based upon a poem written around 7th century BCE. Pickling then spread across Asia, concerning a large variety of vegetables, including radish, baicai (Chinese cabbage, notably suan cai, pao cai, and Tianjin preserved vegetable), zha cai, chili pepper (e.g. duo jiao), and cucumbers, among many others.
Japanese tsukemono (pickled foods) are made from a variety of techniques, the oldest and easiest being Shio-zuke which translates to salt pickles. This method tends to be the most widely used, and a version of this method called ichiyazuke (overnight pickle) which as the name indicates is a sped-up pickling process (using salt) that can be completed overnight and ready to serve the next day.Reid, Libby (August 2008). TSUKEMONO: A Look at Japanese Pickling Techniques (PDF). Kanagawa International Foundation. p. 4. Archived from the original on 2010-11-24. Umeboshi, another salt-preserved tsukemono, is known as the Japanese plum but taste-wise is closer in comparison to an apricot. 'Boshi' stems off the root verb meaning "to dry" because after the umeboshi is pickled, it dries out in sunlight for 3-5 days (although some recipes recommend putting the fruit back into brine at night, to prevent molding).
One of the most notable pickled foods is kimchi, a Korean side dish made of pickled vegetables. Kimchi primarily consists of napa cabbage (baechu) but is also commonly mixed with radish, green onions, garlic, ginger and red chili powder.
Europe
Central and Eastern Europe