By Rebecca Crichton
My grandmother made the best kosher dill pickles I ever ate. My mouth salivates when I think of them even now, seven decades later. After our 10-hour drive from Long Island, New York they were the first thing I sought when my family arrived in Akron, Ohio.
The pickles were among several Eastern European treats my grandmother was famous for. Pickled fish, Gribenes—crispy onions and chicken skins resulting from the process for making schmaltz—and plump baked Bulkes—crescent-shaped pastries similar to Rugelach—were always available.
My grandmother’s basement cold room was a thing of beauty. Shelves lined with pickles and preserves, canned vegetables and fruits presented endless opportunities for culinary exploration. My grandmother was known for her food and baking, a legacy my mother inherited and fulfilled. I remember watching her roll out a ball of dough to the size of the kitchen worktable until it was transparent and ready to enrobe the apple filling for her famous strudel.
I decided I wanted to learn to make my grandmother’s pickles when I was a teenager, and already exploring my foodie inclinations. She was with us for her annual summer visit and I was working as a cashier in a local grocery store that stocked all the supplies for pickling.
I announced my intention to make pickles with my grandmother’s guidance to my mother and grandmother. I said I would get all the elements needed: canning jars, dill, garlic, pickling cucumbers, salt, and pickling spices, and the three of us could fill a dozen wide-brimmed quart canning jars with their gleaming contents.
The day of the great pickling, I descended the stairs to our kitchen where my mother was perched on a stool, watching my grandmother bustle around cleaning jars, scrubbing cucumbers, arranging a production line for the ensuing steps.
I urged my mother to join us in the process but before she could move or reply my grandmother declared, “She can’t touch the pickles. She has her period. She will make them go soft!”
My jaw literally dropped open. I was, as they say, gobsmacked!
“Are you kidding? This is the 20th century! That is an old wives’ tale.”
My grandmother doubled down. Turning to my mother she demanded, “Jean, did I ever make pickles when I had my period?” My mother, looking uncomfortable and abashed, admitted that she hadn’t.
My grandmother upped the ante: “If she touches the pickles, I won’t make them with you.”
I proposed a compromise of sorts, suggesting my mother fill one jar with the prescribed ingredients. We could label it as hers and when it was time to open them, we could compare her jar to another one. My grandmother reluctantly agreed, and my mother looked relieved but doubtful.
I am sorry to admit the results were less than definitive. My mother thought that her pickles were a bit softer than another jar opened at the same time. I couldn’t tell the difference.
Thus, we enshrine the myths of food and families.
Fall is always when I start to think about what to make from the end-of-season bounty that can be enjoyed later and shared with friends and family over the holiday season and into the winter.
At my age, and for many people I know, we don’t aspire to make massive amounts of preserves, pickles, or other condiments to store or give away. I still have unlabeled jars with unidentified contents that might be preserves, chutneys, or … Various preserves from 2019 need to be used and I hesitate to give them away.
The recipes below include some easy-to-prepare choices and a few that take a bit more work but are worth the effort.
Tarragon-Pickled Flame Grapes
From Fancy Pantry by Helen Witty
Ingredients
- 3-½ c. firm-ripe seedless red grapes
- 8 sprigs (about 4 inches long) fresh tarragon (or substitute tarragon vinegar for the white wine vinegar below)
- 1-½ c. white wine vinegar (see above if not using fresh tarragon)
- 3 T. sugar
- 1-½ tsp. fine, non-iodized salt
Instructions
- Rinse grapes and drain well, then roll in towel until they dry.
- Rinse tarragon and pat completely dry on towel.
- Place tarragon in sterilized quart jar.
- Add the grapes, which should come to just the shoulder of the jar, leaving the neck clear.
- Stir together the vinegar, salt and sugar until dissolved.
- Pour the solution over the grapes, which should be covered by at least an inch so they can “swim” freely (add more vinegar if necessary.)
- Cap jar with sterilized lid.
- Store grapes in cool, dark place for at least a month before serving them.
Serve the way you would cornichons or other pickles with cheese, pates or in sandwiches.
Quick Pickled Green Tomatoes
From A Couple Cooks
These pickled green tomatoes are quick pickles, a method of pickling that uses any blend of vegetables pickled in a mixture of vinegar, salt, sugar, and water, and stored in the refrigerator. There’s no canning required and no special canning equipment needed. They last for one month in the refrigerator.
Ingredients
- 4 c. green tomatoes, cut into wedges
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 c. white vinegar
- 1 c. water
- 1 tsp. dried dill
- ½ T. black peppercorns
- ½ tsp. turmeric
- 1 T. sugar
- 2 T. kosher salt
Instructions
- Wash a wide-mouth one-quart mason jar and its lid in hot, soapy water, then rinse and let air dry.
- Cut green tomatoes into wedges and pack them tightly into the jar. (If you have very large tomatoes, you may want to slice them into smaller wedges.)
- Peel the garlic. In a small saucepan, combine the garlic, vinegar, water, dill, peppercorns, turmeric, sugar, and kosher salt. Bring to a low boil, stirring occasionally to dissolve sugar and salt.
- Once dissolved, pour the brine mixture into the jar, allowing the garlic to settle on top of the vegetables. Tap the jar on the counter to release any air bubbles. Discard any remaining brine, or top off the jar with extra water if any tomatoes are exposed at the top. Screw on the lid tightly and allow to cool to room temperature, then store in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours before eating. If desired, discard the garlic after 24 hours. Keeps up to one month refrigerated.
Jean’s Peach Jam
Ingredients
- 4 c. (3 lbs.) peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced.
- 1 orange, peeled, halved and sliced
- 1 lemon, peeled, halved and sliced
- ½ c. blanched sliced almonds
- ½ c. maraschino cherries, halved
- 4 c. sugar
Directions
- For every full cup of fruit, use 1 scant cup of sugar.
- Pour sugar over fruit in pan—not more than sic cups per pan to avoid boiling over.
- Melt over low heat and bring to a rolling boil. Boil 40 minutes to an hour, stirring often.
- As peaches darken and become transparent, text syrup for desired consistency. Put spoonful in freezer to see how it will cool.
- When almost done, add almonds and cherries.
- Cool thoroughly before canning in jars and refrigerating or else follow processing direction for canning preserves.
Yields a half dozen 8 oz. jars.
Rebecca Crichton is executive director of Northwest Center for Creative Aging and presents programs on that topic in the Seattle area. She worked at Boeing for 21 years as a writer, curriculum designer, and leadership development coach. She has master’s degrees in child development and organizational development, and is a certified coach.