Pickle and Relish Recipes

Pickled peaches, tart and sweet . . . dills with a tang . . . old-fashioned cucumber slices ... piquant piccalilli — these typify the four kinds of pickles made in the home.

Easiest to make are the fruit pickles which are left whole and simmered in a sweet-sour sirup. Crab apples and pears as well as peaches are preserved in this way.

Then there are quick-processed pickles made from vegetables salted down overnight and combined the next day with boiling-hot vinegar and spice.

Next are the brined pickles, also called fermented pickles because they go through a curing process lasting several weeks. Sauerkraut and brined beans belong in this group, along with green tomato and cucumber dills.

Last are the relishes, such as tomato catsup, chili sauce, and chutneys made of vegetables or fruits, chopped and seasoned, or cooked down to a spicy sauce.

Best pickled vegetables are firm, clear, even in color throughout with no cloudy or white spots, and have a tart, pungent flavor.

Pickled fruits are plump, firm but tender, and have a spicy, sweet-sour taste.

U.S. Department of Agriculture. Bureau of Human Nutrition and Home Economics

National Agricultural Library

1946

AWI Number 103