After a rainy spring and a long summer, our local farms were productive again this year. But, as we embrace fall, this abundance is only going to be around for a few more weeks. That means it’s time to start preserving things, and one of my all time favorite preserved produce is the pickle.
I like to think of the word “pickle” as a verb, as in “to pickle,” and not necessarily as the noun, “a pickle,” which often conjures up ideas of cucumbers. Don’t get me wrong — pickled cucumbers are one of the most important condiments in many dishes, but we can take it so much further with a little imagination and freshly picked produce.
The process of pickling opens up the doors to so many different flavors and textures of fruits and veggies soaked in a vinegary or salty bath for as little as a few hours up to many months or even more than a year. Or, if you want to take them in a completely different direction, let’s not forget the “original” lacto-fermented pickle, a centuries-old process of fermenting with natual bacteria like lactobacillus. Pretty much no matter what it is, you can pickle it.
You’re unlikely to find lacto-fermented pickles served in restaurants here. In order for a restaurant to serve the “original” pickle, they need a special variance and must strictly abide by standards of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) as these pickles are considered potentially hazardous. This is only true if the pickles are improperly fermented, so you’re more likely to find them on store shelves, such as locally produced and incredibly delicious Ozuké, which very carefully follows the lacto-fermentation guidelines in their industrial kitchen in Lafayette. The Ozuké line of lacto-fer mented pickles is a great starting point for any adventurous pickler out there looking to explore.
Not to pretend to be a culinary historian, but there is a brief way to sum up our almost 10,000 year relationship with pickles. Lactofermentation was the pickling method up until relatively recently. Folks realized that adding a little bit of lacto-fermented pickles to accompany their meat dishes helped digestion. Fast forward to the mid-20th century, and McDonalds standardized the pickle-topped burger. The biggest difference was this pickle was no longer lacto-fermented, but vinegarbrined, and didn’t add anything to help digestion. It mostly marked a culinary transformation that provided our taste buds that sharp taste that cuts through meats and rich dishes without the added health benefit of lactobacillus.
If you dine out here in Boulder at many of the chef-owned establishments, you’ll find pickles on the menu. Sometimes they have pickle plates, sometimes they serve them as sides or garnishes. But they all have something in common: most of the restaurants in town serving house-made pickles are serving refrigerator pickles. Boulder laws around pickling and fermenting are strict, so when you’re dining out, you’re likely to enjoy quick pickles (refrigerator pickles) on your plate.
Chef Dakota Soifer of Cafe Aion is an avid pickler and always has something pickled to offer diners, such as pickled onions to top burgers and a hot pickle mix of chilies, onions, carrots and cauliflower to serve along side richer dishes such as short ribs or lamb shanks. But Soifer’s favorite are his pickled green “Dilly Beans,” a throwback to childhood and his mom’s huge garden in rural Maine. His version is a mix of green beans in white vinegar with garlic, chili and dill flower with a pinch of salt. These are served alongside his house-cured Coppa or Lomo.
Many of the chefs in Boulder head to Savory Spice Shop when they need pickling supplies. Owner Dan Hayward knows his way around pickling spices. Savory Spice Shop sells whole pickling spices as well as a Napa Valley pickling spice that’s ground. Hayward suggests spicing it up a bit by adding various seeds such as coriander, mustard, cumin, ajowan, nigella and fennel, as well as juniper, peppercorns and chilies. When in doubt, stop in the shop and ask. They’re more than happy to help.
If you’re not interested in spending the time and energy to pickle your late season farmers’ market produce at home, you can turn to MMLocal. These locally based picklers have an ever-expanding line including beets, green beans, carrots, asparagus, zucchini, and of course, cucumber pickles, all sourced from local Colorado farms. It’s a win-win if you’re looking to enjoy locally grown pickled veggies as you can support a local company that in turn supports local farmers.
At home, we started early in the season pickling garlic scapes from the farmers’ market. My chef-husband and I stocked up over the summer with pickled beets, green beans, zucchini, cauliflower, cucumbers and our house specialty: pickled potatoes.
Pickled potatoes are a fun side dish with burgers, and the flavor profile is reminiscent of a vinegar-based potato salad, so you can get creative by chopping them up and adding them to things. They’re easy to prepare as well — simply boil fingerling potatoes that have been sliced in half in a mixture that’s three-fourths white vinegar to one-fourth water with some salt, bay leaves, white peppercorns and mustard seeds. Cook the potatoes until they’re done, or easily pierced with a knife. Let them cool, transfer to another container, and refrigerate. They’ll last around a month and are a hearty, mouth-puckering snack.
