Pickling

Every pickle-jar (you will forgive me if I become florid for a moment) contains, therefore, the most exalted of possibilities: the feasibility of the chutnification of history; the grand hope of the pickling of time.

Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie (1980)

Preservation, undoubtedly, but also alteration. There is the essence of pickling, one of the least scientific, the most artistic, of mankind's methods of keeping food well past its sell-by date. Pickled foods are certainly not simply an expedient sustenance, rather an essential condiment in many national cuisines, even a source of passion. Witness the British love of the Ploughman's Lunch, incomplete without a mound of sweet pickle; observe the Korean and his kimchi, the obligatory side dish; see, next to the fine curries, competing for space with the chappatis and nan breads, the bowls of chutney on the table in any Indian restaurant; finally, take the most universal of fast foods, the hamburger, lift the top off, and there it is, the pickled gherkin or cucumber.

David Henley / CPA

Dill pickles in a hamburger.

From a historical perspective, it is clear that mankind has been pickling and--for it is a closely related process--fermenting fruit and vegetables, fish and meat, for a very long time. In Southeast Asia, early western travellers record the omnipresence of various pickled fish pastes, still popular throughout the region. Interestingly, while these pickles were valuable for their preservative effect, to mitigate seasonal variation in fish varieties and supplies, taste seems to have been a more important factor in their popularity. As one seventeenth century traveller to the region records, the local people used much of their fish catch to produce this protein-rich spicy pickle "that is made of a salted fish mollified and dissolved in water; whereof they make a biting liquor, not unlike unto mustard... for sauce only to quicken their appetite in eating of their rice, which they suppose would otherwise be unsavoury." One must conclude that it is this characteristic pungent, biting flavour of pickled foods which wins taste-buds the world over to this very day.

The pickling process itself is reasonably straightforward, yet remains open to almost infinite variation. In scientific terms, the produce to be pickled is allowed to undergo decay, but the decay is regulated by the addition of pickling agents. Salt, often in the form of brine, is probably the most common substance used in pickling, though alcohol, sugar and vinegars are also widely employed. The pickling solution or mixture--meats can be dry-pickled--inhibits undesirable putrefaction, while allowing some organic change to occur. After the required level of pickling has been reached, which can take from a couple of days to a couple of months, further processing is often carried out to help preserve the pickle in its most desirable state. In the case of vegetables, some of the salt is often leached; meats may be smoked after being pickled.

David Henley / CPA

Chinese Pickles.

Unless the pickle has been prepared for more or less immediate consumption, care must be taken in the packaging, as quality will decline and putrefaction set in if moulds and bacteria are admitted. Commonly, pickles are kept in sterilized glass jars, out of direct sunlight, and in a cool place. Sometimes they are even kept underground, and in such conditions can often remain edible for months. Commercially produced pickles are now normally canned, extending the shelf-life of the product, sometimes to many years.

Yet, as already pointed out, it is the gastronomic aspect, more than the preservative, which makes pickles so universally sought after. It is at this point that art joins science, forever in search of the perfect synthesis. Timing can be altered to affect texture and taste. Spices and herbs can be added to the pickling agent, infusing their own distinctive flavours. "The intricacies of turmeric and cumin, the subtlety of fenugreek, when to use large (and when small) cardamoms; the myriad possible effects of garlic, garam masala, stick cinnamon, coriander, ginger...". All these, claim the narrator of Rushdie's Midnight's Children, change the pickle on its route to perfection. "The art is to change the flavour in degree, but not in kind".

David Henley / CPA

A display of pickles in a Thai market.

Throughout much of the world, pickling remains a regular part of home or village life, whether taking the form of jars of pickled onions in a British kitchen or vats of pickled fish paste in rural villages across Southeast Asia. Like so many other foodstuffs, though, pickles are big business too. 1900, New York city, a business man known nationally as the "Pickle King" set up the first electric advertising hoarding in that now famed city of lights. The advert was for his pickles. By 1905 his business had become the H J Heinz Company, still trading across the world under its now somewhat outdated "57 Varieties" slogan.

As well as the major companies which have inevitably cashed in on our taste-buds' desire for tangy, tart pickles, many smaller enterprises are now producing chutneys and pickled condiments of a more individual nature. A recent sortie into a London delicatessen uncovered, amongst others, onion and pineapple pickle, mango, lime and tomato chutney, and a concoction containing five fruits and cider, all produced by small companies, with promises of individuality and distinctiveness on each label. And let's not forget, over at the fresh counter, a more traditional North European treat, pickled herring. Just last week, wandering round a supermarket in Northern Thailand, in which there was a shelf of about thirty different pickled products, I came across a locally made jar of whole pickled limes, skin and all. The ingredients label was rewarding - along with limes and salt, the sealed jar apparently contained "timely sun processing". I had to buy it, and can assure the reader that, amidst the sour and salty flavours teasing my palate, I'm sure I could taste the delicate art of sun and time working their wonders.

This article was first published in CPA Media's "Across Cultures" series in Asiana Magazine.

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