You can also drink it, use it to brine a chicken or add it to a marinade.

BY CHRISTINE BURNS RUDALEVIGE   –   PORTLAND PRESS HERALD

Pickle brine is not an insignificant substance.

According to Pickle Packers International, Inc., a trade association for the pickled vegetable industry, Americans consume more than 2.5 billion pounds of commercial pickles each year. Even before you start counting the ones we pickle at home, we’re still talking about 20 billion pickles annually, folks.

All of which have been sitting in a brine comprising some combination of water, salt, sugar and spices, a mixture most of us don’t think twice about dumping down the drain. Being resolute about using up used pickle brine across your culinary repertoire is a small, but significant, step to take for a greener new year.

Based on the eight jars of pickles in my cupboard, I estimate a quart jar can hold 10 large, 16 medium or 24 small pickles. Once the pickles, regardless of their size, are gone, each of the jars is left with 1¼ to 1½ cups of what you can now think of as liquid flavor.

You can drink it, especially before and after a tough workout, when it can help relieve muscle cramps (thanks to the sodium and vinegar) and help replenish electrolytes, which renders expensive, plastic-bottled, sugary sports drinks unnecessary. Given that it is the day after New Year’s Eve, I can also offer up pickle brine as a hangover cure.

If you are taking it straight up, sipping is the right approach. A big chug might not sit well in your tummy. You could always strain the brine into Popsicle molds and freeze it if you need to further monitor the speed at which you take it in.

Pickling expert Marissa McClellan, who wrote “Food in Jars,” “Preserving by the Pint” and “Naturally Sweet Food in Jars,” says you can use spent pickle brine to make more pickles – but only if you are making a batch of refrigerator pickles. And we’re not just talking about cucumbers; you can quick-pickle sliced red onions, grated carrots, hard-boiled eggs, garlic, artichoke hearts or any other soft vegetables. McClellan warns that once a brine has been processed in either a water bath or a pressure canner and has sat in a jar on the shelf with a batch of pickles submerged in it, the acidity of the brine will not likely be high enough to make a new batch safe to store unrefrigerated.

Cathy Barrow, whose book “Mrs. Wheelbarrow’s Practical Pantry” guides cooks through sundry ways of using every bit of the canned goods in your larder deliciously, suggests using pickle juice to brine chicken. A basic brine – essentially a salt-and-water solution with optional flavorings – tenderizes meat and allows it to absorb the flavored liquid. If you want to cut the sourness, add a little brown sugar. If you want only a hint of pickle, cut the brine with an equal amount of water.

You can use pickle brine anywhere you’d use vinegar, such as salad dressings, marinades and barbecue sauces. You can use it – albeit in shorter measure – in a dirty martini instead of olive juice or to tart up a Bloody Mary, swapping out the celery garnish for a pickle spear, of course. And you can use a dash of pickle juice anywhere a heavy or flat-tasting dish need a bit of zip – like when you’re boiling a pot of potatoes, mixing up meatloaf, baking macaroni and cheese, steaming vegetables or making hummus.

The one Internet-fueled idea I found hard to swallow was using pickle juice to make bread. The recipes I read recommended a 1:1 swap with warm water used in standard bread recipes. I wasn’t thrown off by the potential taste – I thought that would be great – but I worried the acid would diminish the bread’s rise. In fact, it doesn’t. My homemade pretzel dough rose to twice its size in the expected 90 minutes. And the finished product was soft, chewy perfection with a pleasing tang that allowed me to forgo my usual mustard on the side.

Christine Burns Rudalevige is a food writer, a recipe developer and tester and a cooking teacher in Brunswick. Contact her at: cburns1227@gmail.com.

By Tracy Saelinger   –   USA Today

You’re usually in the pickle camp or you’re not. If you’re a true pickle devotee, though, you’re probably on board for pretty much anything pickled: fried pickles, pickle-brined chicken, quick pickles, pickle-juice cocktails. You get the idea.

So when those of us pickle lovers at TODAY Food heard about a dill pickle soup recipe that’s going viral, we decided what we’re having for dinner tonight.

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The recipe is the creation of Cathy Pollak, a food and travel writer, winemaker and wine grower based in McMinnville, the heart of Oregon’s Willamette Valley wine country — not far from Portland, where of course, the city’s love of pickles inspired the “You can pickle that!” sketch on Portlandia.

On her blog, Noble Pig, Pollak posted the original recipe a few years ago­, and it swept the country then. But more recently, she posted a video to Facebook, and it went wild — to the tune of 15 million views and counting.

“It took on a life of its own mostly because people are either in love with the idea (pickle lovers) or they are disgusted with the idea,” Pollack told TODAY Food.

If you, too, have pickle juice running through your veins, you’re probably with the tens of thousands of commenters who have posted things like “I NEED this” or a string of green-emoji hearts. “Seriously people, make it! It’s so much better than it sounds. Don’t forget to get some crusty bread to dip in there!” encourages one poster.

Others are ambivalent — there’s lot of “I’m still not sure how I feel about this” comments — to vehement dissenters: “This makes me want to vomit!” writes a poster, who, full disclosure, once accepted a dare to drink a cup of pickle juice. OK, well, that makes sense.

The recipe itself, which you can find here, is easy: It calls for a dozen ingredients and takes about 30 minutes to make, start to finish.

Note: You will need at least 2 cups of pickle juice (personally, after I’m done with a jar of pickles, I keep the remaining juice in the fridge for situations just like this!). Pollak does mention in the recipe, “All pickle juice is not created equal. Some are saltier than others.” After adding the pickle juice, taste the soup before adding the final seasonings, and adjust accordingly, she suggests.

As pickle lovers, we implore you to give it a try — and report back if you do.

By Dakota Kim   –   Paste Magazine

Paulina Garcia grew up in arid northern Mexico, where garlic, pecans, apples and potatoes grow, but most people she knew shopped at H-E-B, Walmart and Sam’s Club. “In the north, we’re pretty Americanized,” Garcia said.

When Garcia moved to the city of Oaxaca with her boyfriend Daniel Lopez, who co-opened top bakery Boulenc on Calle Porfirio Diaz, she had been experimenting with pickling. A few months ago, a small, charming space opened up across the street from Boulenc and was offered to the bakery, but they didn’t want it, so they offered it to Garcia and Lopez. Garcia knew immediately what she wanted to do: a pickle shop that took advantage of the bounty of Oaxaca’s markets, which overflow with such a diversity of fruits and vegetables that Garcia says she learns a new species every week. A few wooden shelves and pickling sessions later, Suculenta was ushered into Oaxaca’s booming culinary scene.

Guests peruse the shelves full of dill pickles, cardamom honey, pear marmalade, mushroom pate, pumpkin relish, ginger mustard, apple vinegar, and oil flavored with Mexican herbs and spices. Friends, neighbors and acquaintances pop in to say hello to Garcia as she works on putting up her latest batch of escabeche. “We know a lot of these people from the bakery, so you could say we have a close relationship with our customers,” Garcia said. “This project reminds some people of a recipe from their grandmother or mother, so everybody is always sharing.”

At the front, I sample a jam that is remarkably flavorful, evoking the sweet, ripe, light taste that hovers somewhere between an apricot and a plum. Garcia says that the jam is made from a small golden yellow fruit that she passes to me, urging me to taste it. Garcia found the Japanese plum known as loquat, or nispero in Mexico, at a Oaxaca market one day. Though native to Asia, it grows widely across Oaxaca, Garcia says, and is just one of the many new foods that has entered her life since she moved to abundant Oaxaca.

Visitors to Oaxaca can sample Garcia’s pickles at her shop, or if it’s closed, purchase them down the street at Boulenc bakery, which uses her jams, mushroom pate, mustard, pickled carrots and jams, and sells jars of her products.

Paste chatted with Garcia about the food climate in Oaxaca and her hopes for her pickling shop.

Paste: So are pickles traditionally a Oaxacan food? There is escabeche, but are other items typically pickled?

Paulina Garcia: There are some pickles made in Oaxaca — some chayotes, potatoes, carrots, plums. They sell them on the street usually, with a piece of bread. They pour strong vinegar directly on them, so they are a bit strong. Also, pigs’ feet are served on escabeche. I haven’t tried that one, but I’ve seen it a lot in Mexico in general.

Paste: How do you make your escabeche?

PG: The traditional recipe is made with white vinegar, water, salt, spices, and vegetable oil. You can use jalapenos, any kind of vegetables, or a mix of both. Our recipe is made with olive oil instead of vegetable oil to make it more healthy and tasteful.

Paste: Since produce grows year-round here, it doesn’t seem like there’s as much of a need to ferment food for the winter, but are Mexicans generally embracing fermented foods to a greater degree, in your opinion?

PG: Anything that it’s “in” in the U.S. eventually makes it way into Mexico, a few years later of course. So I believe that we are a little bit ahead of our time, but it’s definitely becoming a thing. Pickles, healthy food, ferments, sourdough, all the good stuff.

Paste: Do you have an idealistic mission when it comes to your pickles?

PG: Yes, our aim is to replace the supermarkets and the brands that we all usually buy. Our products use only local ingredients, with no artificial flavors or preservatives. Buying something from us supports the producers and farmers directly.

Paste: What are your most popular items?

PG: I would say the marmalades and the peanut butter, probably because they’re sweet and easier to pair, and in second place, the dill cucumber pickles.

Paste: You wouldn’t think this pickle recipe from north of the border would be the most popular.

PG: I’d say it’s because we get a lot of foreign people that love pickles. And in our Mexican market, we know that pickle from burgers and hot dogs, so it’s easy to know how to eat it.

Paste: What are some new items that you are experimenting with?

PG: Right now, I’m experimenting with lacto-fermented carrots and radishes. The flavor is crazy interesting. We just got some organic honey and beeswax, so I’m doing soap, candles and beeswax lip balm. And pickles, always pickles. We just did some pickled quail eggs and pickled garlic and they’re amazing. Also, I’d like to have a whole line of beauty products, personal hygiene, utilitarian items — everything with the same concept: simple, natural, locally made, homemade.

Paste: Any other new fruits or vegetables you’ve discovered lately besides the nispero?

PG: Magic beans! We just got a mix of beans grown and harvested in a small town in the Sierra Sur. When we opened them, they were all different colors and sizes, and they looked like candy.

Paste: Has the Oaxacan community been supportive, culinarily and culturally?

PG: Yes, I love it here. Seems like everybody is doing something interesting and it’s really easy to connect with people of all ages and genders. I have 65 year old friends and I think that’s amazing. Where I come from, you only make friends with people your own age. I think that limits you in a way.

Paste: What markets and restaurants do you like most in Oaxaca, and why?

PG: I visit all markets — 20 de Noviembre and Sanchez Pascuas more because they’re in my same street. But I go to Abastos and, whenever we can, we visit markets in other towns — you always find something new. For restaurants, I like El Destilado, Archivo Maguey, La Biznaga, and tons of street food of course. And obviously, Boulenc everyday.

Paste: Your shop is so charming. Are you planning on expanding?

PG: Right know it’s only a part store and a part kitchen. The place connects with a huge house so we’re definitely looking to expand.

Suculenta is located at Porfirio Diaz #207-G in Oaxaca’s Centro Historico and is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. The store is closed on Sundays. Call +52 951 351 3648 for daily specials.

Dakota Kim is Paste’s Food Editor. Tweet her @dakotakim1.

 

It’s 5 p.m. on a chilly night in December. You’re in the office bathroom primping for your friend’s annual holiday party, and you haven’t eaten a thing, hoping to save your appetite for the endless morsels these festive gatherings  aptly provide. After a few glasses of Champagne and a bit of mingling, you make a beeline for the spread. You scan the appetizer table—the various dips, assorted olives and nuts—and finally arrive at the token cheese board: dependable, creamy, lac-tastic. You shove a few cubes of cheddar and Gouda into your face, wash it down with a cracker or two, dust the crumbs off your party outfit and are momentarily satisfied.

But who says this is how things should be? How festive can a water cracker really get? This year, instead of weighing your guests down with the heavy, bland cheese assortments of yore, try a fresher option. Something gloriously crunchy, spicy, sweet and sour: Pickle boards are here to save your holiday, and they’re the only way you should be kicking off any seasonal fete.

We’re not just talking a few big dills and a jar of half-sours here. Think a cornucopia of complex flavors, from sweet red pickled beets to crunchy, spiced carrots to a few smears of mustard and a pile of salty, fatty serrano ham, all laid out in perfect order, waiting to be devoured by eager guests. This plethora of pickles is within reach, which is why we’ve asked an expert to help get us there.

Jacob Hadjigeorgis, pickle connoisseur and owner of Jacob’s Pickles, a pickle-focused comfort food restaurant in Manhattan, preaches the importance of these briny snacks. “I found when opening the restaurant that guests, consumers and the public in general have a tremendous passion for pickles,” he says.

He describes the pickle’s vital place at the holiday table, explaining, “Pickles are big, bright and bold. They wake up and cleanse the palate, and they can even act as a kind of digestif to settle the stomach or round out the meal.”

Here are a few tips from Hadjigeorgis for taking your holiday assortment to the next level.

① Variety Show

When it comes to a bomb pickle board, variety is the spice of life. “I think it’s important to show a range,” Hadjigeorgis says. “I recommend a traditional, clean, balanced, brined salt pickle to start, but then the addition of something sweet, sour, salty and spicy.”

Think spice from chile, warm heat from cinnamon or the complexity of coriander, garlic and dill being present in the brine. This way, “you find something for every palate and [a pickle] to complement various dishes throughout the meal.”

② The Cukes of Hazzard

News flash: Cucumbers aren’t the only thing you should be pickling this holiday season. “The cucumber is the true foundational pickle, but I think there’s a misconception that pickles are only cucumbers,” Hadjigeorgis says. “We pickle a variety of vegetables [at Jacob’s Pickles]. Right now, we offer cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, beets, string beans, jalapeños and okra.”

He continues, “I think you have an opportunity to really play and experiment with flavor profiles when it comes to different vegetables.” For example, because tomatoes and beets are naturally sweet, a brine with a higher level of sugar will complement that natural sweetness in the vegetables.

③ A Perfect Pair

Make no mistake: The pickles should be the star of your board. Still, a really spectacular holiday spread may need a bit more. So what else do you include in your pickled platter?

“The beauty of pickles is that they pair well with a lot of things,” he says. He’s found that fattier meats and creamy, mild cheeses (yes, cheese makes an appearance) work particularly well. “There needs to be a balance,” he says. “You have to be careful in pairing the salt content. In my opinion, you shouldn’t have a cured meat that’s saltier than the pickle itself.”

Same goes for the cheese. Low salt and high fat are your friends. “A triple crème is great with pickles, a sharp cheddar cheese is excellent, and something that would have a little funk to it to offer another layer,” he says. “I’d really enjoy a Point Reyes [Original] Blue, for example, which has a creamier, milder funk profile.”

And to wash it all down? For Hadjigeorgis, you can’t beat craft beer. “Beer and pickles has kind of been our guiding light here,” he says. “For starters, try Allagash White. It has coriander and citrus notes with enough of a backbone to stand against a potent pickle. Maine MO gives you a bitter hop contrast while allowing the salt and vinegar to come through. And for a unique experience, try The Bruery’s Sour in the Rye to pair your pickles with tart cherry notes.”

④ Brine It On

When it comes to finding the perfect pickles for your holiday board, homemade is often the best (and most fun) way to get exactly what you want.

“It’s a fun process,” Hadjigeorgis says. “There’s a trial and error that comes with it, and you can totally come up with your own profile: higher salt, higher acid, a different balance.” All you need is great vinegar (like apple cider, white or rice), water, sugar and salt. “If you have those four components, you can easily come up with a brine. Of course, it won’t have those complex layers, but that’s where the different spices come in.”

Hadjigeorgis says it’s entirely possible to turn around pickles in a few days, but they can also be made weeks in advance. “This means you can prepare [the pickles] way ahead of time and just pull them out when you’re ready to assemble your board.”

If pickling vegetables yourself isn’t your style, Hadjigeorgis suggests checking out your local farmers’ market to find unique, complex and tasty pickle varieties.

That’s one board we won’t be getting, ahem, bored of anytime soon.