Episode 1: Dad's Pickles

Ford On Food

As a kid, I grew up with an abundance of homemade pickles, preserves, jams, marmalades, curds and chutneys. In my parent’s country of origin (Britain), pickles are an institution. Virtually all cultures have developed processes for food preservation. Indians have spicy chutneys; Spanish have salsas and Europeans have glazed fruits. Most of the techniques where developed prior to refrigeration, in an attempt to slow down food spoilage and allow fruit and vegetables to be stored for longer, because once fresh produce is harvested it very quickly deteriorates. Furthermore, due to climatic conditions some produce won’t be available again until the seasons turn full circle. With modern day availability of year-round fresh produce and advanced refrigeration technology, it could be argued that the preservation techniques of old are now obsolete. Besides, you can also buy mass produces pickles etc. The problem with that argument is that homemade preserves just taste so much better than factory-made. My Dad recently gave me a jar of his amazing pickled onions, the best I’ve ever eaten. Unfortunately, he hasn’t quite shared the recipe with me, but in next week’s podcast, I’ll share my own personal recipe with you, possibly not as good as Dad’s pickles – but close.