Happy International Pickle Day!

I'm pretty passionate about pickles — I’m talking sour, salty, tangy, spicy, garlicky — no sweet pickles for me (including relish! 😝) …Pickling’s been part of countless food cultures around the world for ‘forever’ …for centuries , thousands of years in myriad cultures as a traditional method to preserve vegetables and sometimes fruits for a long time using natural fermentation and/or vinegar, salt, and spices. Specific places that come to my mind include

Korea, China, Japan, India, most of Europe (incl. Germanic, Nordic, Eastern and Ashkenazi Jewish food cultures) …The list goes on. The continent of Africa, the culinary traditions of West Africa in particular is no exception. But is somehow almost always and conspicuously left out of the pickling picture and conversation.

Ironic considering that cucumbers (gherkins in fact — a primary pickling medium in America ) originate from the subsaharan African continent. Genetically related to watermelons. Furthermore, Black Americans (women in particular) were known for, lauded and awarded for their pickling prowess and ingenuity for centuries…

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For now enjoy these pickle pics i took at various sundry places including:

• A recent pickling workshop / demo i did at the Weeksville Heritage Center’s harvest festival …

• The New York Botanical Garden :

• My friend Kelly's kitchen counter (she’s always got some kinda fab food and/or drink project in progress lol..

*My friend Chef Carla Hall ‘s restaurant in Redhook Bklyn backk in the day (Carla Hall's Southern Kitchen) It was when i was working with Carla a few years ago and first learned about her knack for making a range of Southern chowchows (diced or shredded pickled “relishes” made from any veg) that I was also reminded how important pickling has always been in African American culinary culture. Which makes perfect sense: at its core pickling is all about preservation, harnessing your harvest and not letting ANYTHING go to waste…

As you can see, ‘Int’l Pickle Day’ won the random draw for today’s TFG calendar daily post —so look for Mimosa Day and BBQ Day content on my Patreon page