nPostednon October 19, 2013
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nSweetnand salty daikon radish pickles!
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nAndnlots of them!
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nManynAmericans think of “pickles” as cucumbers that have been pickled…
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nWhich means they have been preserved in brine and / or vinegar…
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nSweet or sour, large ornsmall, sticky and juicy and always green.
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nButnof course foods other than cucumbers can be pickled, too!
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nOlivesnare pickled. People eat pickled beets, onion, cauliflower, mushrooms,ntomatoes, peppers, mangos, cabbage, turnips, gooseberries…
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Well—justnabout any edible plant part can be pickled! And people also picklenfish, meat, eggs, and even rice. Today’s pickle market in Tokyo,nJapan, concentrates on pickled daikon radishes. The pickles arenlarge, sticky, white blobs that don’t make me think “pickle” atnall!
Well—justnabout any edible plant part can be pickled! And people also picklenfish, meat, eggs, and even rice. Today’s pickle market in Tokyo,nJapan, concentrates on pickled daikon radishes. The pickles arenlarge, sticky, white blobs that don’t make me think “pickle” atnall!n
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n(Getnthis: vendors used to sell the bettara dangling from ropes. Whennpeople walked home from the market, they would swing the pickles bynthe ropes, calling out to warn others that they had sticky pickles!)
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Innthe past, vendors knew that the people of Tokyo were getting readynfor a Shinto ceremony to honor the god Ebisu, one of the seven godsnof luck. The Ebisu festival was held on October 20, so the vendorsnwould set up their wares outside of the shrine gates the day before,nand they would sell people wooden images of Ebisu. Of course, foodnvendors would set up there, too—to lure hungry shoppers to purchasentheir foods. The fair grew and grew, and now there are between 400nand 500 stalls set up in the streets! n
Innthe past, vendors knew that the people of Tokyo were getting readynfor a Shinto ceremony to honor the god Ebisu, one of the seven godsnof luck. The Ebisu festival was held on October 20, so the vendorsnwould set up their wares outside of the shrine gates the day before,nand they would sell people wooden images of Ebisu. Of course, foodnvendors would set up there, too—to lure hungry shoppers to purchasentheir foods. The fair grew and grew, and now there are between 400nand 500 stalls set up in the streets! nn
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nHopefully,nmany of these stalls are selling things other than pickles! I mean,nwe can eat only so many pickles in an evening!
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nWhyndoes brine and vinegar preserve food?
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nItnis difficult for bacteria to grow in very salty or acidic solutions,nand that is why from ancient times people have used salt and vinegarn(which is a form of acid) to keep food from going bad. Learn morenabout pickled foods here.
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nHerenis a step-by-step guide to making homemade pickles.
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nWeirdnpickle stuff…
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nInam uncertain if all these weird pickle “facts” are actually true.nIt would be interesting to dig in and find out, wouldn’t it?
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nIn read that there is a law in Connecticut that a pickle can only ben officially called a pickle if it bounces.
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nPeoplen create and sell Koolickles,
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nwhich are colorful Kool-Aid pickles!n
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Onen commercial product I think I will skip is pickled pigs’ lips! Alson popular with some, but not me, are pickled pigs’ feet.n
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Whatn do you think of Pickle Sickles? These pickle juice “popsickles”n are supposed to be a craze in Texas.n
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Dill pickle bread is supposed to be truly yummy for those of us whon like sourdough. n
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nInn the past, pickled food stored up for emergencies was so important onn some Pacific islands, a man had to prove worthy of marrying byn showing his prospective bride’s parents his pickled food inside hisn banana-leaf-lined sand pits!
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n Incan just imagine thatnconversation: “MaynI have the honor of your daughter’s hand in marriage?” “Shownme your pickle pits!”
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nAlsonon this date:
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nTeen Read Week (October 13 – 19)
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nThisnyear’s theme: Seek the Unknown
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nAnniversarynof a Venus Fly-by
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nPlannAhead:
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Checknout my Pinterest boards for:
Checknout my Pinterest boards for:
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nOctobern holidays
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nOctobern birthdays
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- Historicaln anniversaries in October
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nAndnhere are my Pinterest boards for:
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nNovembern holidays
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nNovembern birthdays
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- Historicaln anniversaries in November
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