pickling

The tradition & historical record

Pickling is the process of preserving or extending the shelf life of food by either anaerobic fermentation in brine or immersion in vinegar. The pickling procedure typically affects the food's texture and flavor. The resulting food is called a pickle, or, if named, the name is prefaced with the word "pickled". Foods that are pickled include vegetables, fruits, mushrooms, meats, fish, dairy and eggs. Pickling solutions are typically highly acidic, with a pH of 4.6 or lower, and high in salt, preventing enzymes from working and micro-organisms from multiplying. Pickling can preserve perishable foods for months, or in some cases years. Antimicrobial herbs and spices, such as mustard seed, garlic, cinnamon or cloves, are often added. If the food contains sufficient moisture, a pickling brine may be produced simply by adding dry salt. For example, sour cabbage, sauerkraut, and kimchi are produced by salting the vegetables to draw out excess water. Natural fermentation at room temperature, by lactic acid bacteria, produces the required acidity. Other pickles are made by placing vegetables in vinegar. Unlike the canning process, pickling (which includes fermentation) does not require that the food be completely sterile. ¹

Pickling with vinegar likely originated in ancient Persia and Mesopotamia around 2400 BCE. There is archaeological evidence of cucumbers being pickled in the Tigris Valley in 2030 BCE. Pickling vegetables in vinegar continued developing in the Middle East region before spreading to the Maghreb, Sicily, and Spain. From Spain, it spread to the Americas. Fermented salt pickling reportedly originated in China. Textual and archaeological evidence shows that food preservation by salting and pickling was practiced in the Greek and Roman world. ¹

Pickling was used as a way to preserve food for out-of-season use and for long journeys, especially by sea. Salt pork and salt beef were common staples for sailors before the days of steam engines. Although the process was invented to preserve foods, pickles are also made and eaten because people enjoy the resulting flavors. Pickling may also improve the nutritional value of food by introducing B vitamins produced by bacteria. ¹

The English term "pickle" first appears around 1400 CE. It originates from the Middle English pikel, a spicy sauce served with meat or fish, borrowed from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German pekel ("brine") but later referred to preserving in brine or vinegar. The Persian term "torshi" (Persian: ترشی) applies to pickled vegetables in many Middle Eastern, Caucasian, Slavic, and Balkan cuisines. The term is ultimately derived from Persian torsh 'sour' (Persian: ترش). This Persian word is borrowed with minor variants in many languages: Kurdish ترشى Tirşîn, tirşî, trshin; Turkish and Azerbaijani turşu; Greek: τουρσί, romanized: toursí; Bosnian, Croatian, Montenegrin, Serbian, Macedonian, Bulgarian turšija/туршија/туршия turshiya; Albanian: turshi; Judeo-Spanish trushí. ¹

In Iran, Armenia, Turkey, Arab countries, Northern Africa, the Balkans, and some other countries in West Asia, pickles that are called torshi, or mekhallel are a pickled mix of cucumbers, and turnips, onions, carrots, olives or other regional vegetables. Toursi is a traditional appetizer (meze) to go with arak, rakı, ouzo, oghi, tsipouro, and rakia. In some regions, notably in Turkey (turşu suyu), the pickle juice or torshi water is a popular beverage. In 2021, Turkey's pickle exports reached the level of $300 million. Iran has hundreds of types of torshi (Persian: تورشی), according to regional customs and different events. In some families, no meal is considered complete without a bowl of torshi on the table. In Armenia and Armenian cuisine, it is called t’tu (Armenian: թթու) often eaten as an appetizer. Vegetables used include cabbage, cucumber, tomato, carrot, cauliflower, beetroot, eggplant, bell pepper, garlic, onion and turnip, often preserved in brine or vinegar and spiced with garlic, herbs, or chili. It is served alongside other Armenian appetizers like topik, lavash, aboukh/basturma, sujukh and matsoon. It is also often used in wraps such as the brduch. ¹

In Egypt, pickled vegetables are referred to as both torshi (طرشي) and mekhalel (مخلل). Both terms refer to all varieties of pickled vegetables, including carrots, cucumbers, turnips, garlic, onions, cauliflower, and hot peppers, preserved in a vinegar-based brine infused with spices such as nigella seeds, black pepper, and bay leaves. It is ubiquitous on Egyptian tablespreads, especially for breakfast.Cabbage, carrots, and bell peppers pickled in vinegar are commonly consumed in Israel. ¹

South Asia has a large variety of pickles (known as achar (अचार, اچار) in Nepali, Assamese, Bengali, Hindi (अचार), Punjabi, Gujarati, Urdu (اچار) uppinakaayi in Kannada, lonacha (लोणचं) in Marathi, uppilittathu or achar in Malayalam, oorukai in Tamil, pacchadi (పచ్చడి) or ooragaya (ఊరగాయ) in Telugu, which are mainly made from varieties of mango, lemon, lime, gongura (a sour leafy shrub), tamarind, Indian gooseberry (amla), and chilli. Vegetables such as eggplant, carrots, cauliflower, tomato, bitter gourd, green tamarind, ginger, garlic, onion, and citron are also occasionally used. These fruits and vegetables are mixed with ingredients such as salt, spices, and vegetable oils. The pickling process is completed by placing filled jars in the sun to mature. In Pakistan, pickles are known locally as achaar (in Urdu اچار) and come in a variety of flavours. A popular item is the traditional mixed Hyderabadi pickle, prepared from an assortment of fruits (most notably mangoes) and vegetables blended with selected spices. Although the origin of the word is ambiguous, the word āchār is widely considered to be of Persian origin. Āchār in Persian is defined as 'powdered or salted meats, pickles, or fruits, preserved in salt, vinegar, honey, sugar or syrup.' ¹

In Sri Lanka, a date and shallot pickle, achcharu, is traditionally prepared from carrots, chilli powder, shallots and ground dates mixed with garlic, crushed fresh ginger, green chilis, mustard seeds and vinegar, and left to sit in a clay pot. Indian pickles are mostly prepared in three ways: salt/brine, oil, and vinegar, with mango pickle being popular among all. ¹

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Pickling”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ¹

pickling is process of preserving, by either anaerobic fermentation in brine or immersion in vinegar, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ²

The source record links this tradition to 10 external registers, which can be verified through the citation. ²