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Salt-Curing
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Published 2025
Heavy doses of salt add flavor and work to extract moisture from vegetables, fruit, meat, or fish. When pressure is added to reduce oxygen and then prevent spoilage, salt-cured foods such as olives or salmon undergo transformations in flavor, texture, and longevity.
It’s not uncommon to use more than one of these methods. Some recipes call for salt-curing, then acid. Others require that you ferment foods a bit before adding vinegar. The only limits are the edges of your flavor imagination.
Know also that this book eschews hot water bath canning and pressure canning preservation techniques. If you have a 40-acre farm and grow 100 pounds of, well, anything, then those tried-and-true methods of food storage that date back to the Napoleonic era can be a godsend to help stock your larder for the lean winter months. But in the days of modern canning—meaning an ample food supply, electricity, and small-batch recipes—the refrigerator is the best and safest way to store pickles. Most of the recipes you’ll find here make just a few jars—the perfect amount for storing, sharing, and eating. Now, a couple of ground rules as we buckle up for our voyage down The Great Pickle Highway.