Pickle and Preserve

Don’t let the veggies hang out in the vinegar for too long. You want them to stay crunchy!

Pickling berries is a great way to make the most of seasonal produce. Try them over ice cream and salad.

Here’s your opportunity to use up berries that are slightly past their prime. This recipe method concentrates the berries’ flavors, so the more delicious they are to begin with, the better they will be dried. At Craftsman and Wolves in San Francisco, CA, William Werner combines them with raw berries in tarts or adds them to arugula salads. They're chewy—a bit softer than a dried apricot—with a plump, juicy consistency.

Cabbage is perfect for fermenting because the cell walls are easily broken down with salt, and the juices that are released quite easily make the brine. While you are chopping and grating your cabbage, eat a piece raw. It will be crunchy and sweet. After fermentation it will be pretty crunchy still, shiny and alive-looking; the sugars will have been eaten by the lactobacillus bacteria (et al); and the sauer that you taste is the lactic acid cleverly produced by the lactobacillus.

These pickles are extra salty and crunchy. They’re best paired with fatty cuts of meat but also good to munch on by themselves. This recipe is from Gunpowder, an Indian restaurant in London.

Rhubarb’s signature tartness is actually brought down by pickling!

Pickling the eggs in their cracked but intact shells creates a unique tie-dye effect on each one.

Despite being pickled, these chiles have a fresh crunch and bright, garlicky flavor. If you cook them, they lose that; add them to finished dishes, particularly pizzas.

Use these tangy beets to top salads, layer on sandwiches, or enjoy as an anytime snack.

Use any whole spices you like for this beets recipe; just make sure you sizzle them in oil first to bring out their flavor.

The fruit-to-sugar ratio in this marmalade recipe makes it not too sweet and you can really taste the grapefruit.

If you can find Meyer lemons, use them for this recipe. Their thinner skin has very little bitterness.

If you find yourself reaching for a cocktail, then suddenly remember you’re doing Dry January, make a batch of fire cider, then turn it into an uplifting tonic.

Often called kosher-style dill pickles, these are quick to make. Use either small whole cucumbers or cut larger ones into quarters. For an additional interesting flavor, tuck a small dried hot red pepper into each jar.

Double the batch of spicy radish pickles from raw shrimp recipe and use to top sticky ribs, grilled chicken, and fried rice.

The key to buying fish for this recipe is asking your fishmonger what she would eat raw. Red snapper or black bass are good subs for lean, mild fluke.

Smoked almonds and black olives are our suggestions for this appetizer, but use any nut or olive that you like.

If you like lox, bacon, or anchovies, you should thank salt—and time. That's all that it takes to turn supermarket limes into this pleasantly salt-tart-funky pantry staple, the sibling of preserved lemons.

Avocado, goat cheese, and a tangy buttermilk dressing add richness to a sandwich that’s packed with crunch.

Slice these and mix with cured meats for a fresher take on antipasto salad.

Splash liberally on fried eggs, toss with grilled veg, or spread on a sub.

After you finish pickling the strawberries, hang on to the brine, which can be used in place of mild vinegars.

Acidity helps preserve the alliums’ flavor; either vinegar or citrus juice would do the trick.