Oh, the pickle. I love pickles. Dill pickles, sweet pickles,
bread and butter pickles, I love pickles. Especially on a warm summer day. We
tried planting pickling cucumbers this year but the newly discovered
neighborhood chipmunk loves them just as much so we’re only left with two
burpless cucumbers. That’s fine, they’re more than making up for what they lack
in numbers.
Part of the Cucurbitaceae family, the cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) has a long and luxurious history with mankind.
You can find them in arid climates or the tropics, in Africa, Asia, or the
Americas. In terms of cucumbers, most historians believe they arrived via India
being cultivated in that area for at least 3,000 years.[1]
However, no wild cousins have been found in the region between the northern
part of the Bay of Bengal and the Himalayas.[2]
The trade roads introduced these spiny fruit to Greece and Rome. Colonialism
helped to spur the movement of cucumbers to new heights through the expansion
to North America in 1494.[3]
The fruit can be eaten fresh,
pickled, cooked, or any other way you can think of it. My grandmother loves to
take fresh cut cucumber and soak it in apple cider vinegar for a half hour. Kind of like the poor man's pickle. Think it’s the same thing as a gherkin? It’s not. In fact, most West Indian
gherkins (C. anguria) are a different
species rarely grown in the United States. If you’re looking for one try to find those
with a “prickly” oval fruit about an inch long.[4]
Most cucumbers are frost sensitive
that love warm seasons. The vines can grow rapidly so it’s best to have a trellis
ready for the seedlings once they start to emerge; however, there are newer
varieties that do well in containers. At this stage, it’s best to provide cover
from leaf munchers (i.e. bunnies, chipmunks, etc) otherwise you’ll be like me
and walk out to a cucumber plant nibbled to the ground. Most varietals take
55-75 days to reach maturity, but to speed things along feel free to start
seedlings indoor and transplant when all danger of frost is gone.[5]
Now, you’re probably asking, “what
are you doing with all your cucumbers?” Great question. Pickle relish. I know,
I know, I don’t have “pickling” cucumbers. But does that matter? It really
doesn’t have to and can be up to personal preference. Most would argue against it due to the size of the seeds in the average cucumber. So scrounging the web for
a recipe (my favorite thing to do), I set out on a quest to find a recipe that
didn’t “require” pickling cucumbers.
 |
| Prepping for the relish making ^_^ |
I found one on Eating Richly’s blog. There’s a nice dill flavor and the turmeric really makes the color pop –
but not as insane as some of that neon green relish, you know which one I’m
talking about…laced with petroleum derived food coloring…Most of the time spent
on the relish went into the brine bath. Otherwise, it was a cinch to whip up
several half pints of this lovely condiment.
Is there anything in the grocery
store that you’ve decided to make yourself? If yes, post a comment and tell us
the what and why!
[1] Kenneth F. Kiple &
Kriemhild Coneé
Ornelas, ed. The Cambridge World History
of Food, Cambridge University, 2000. http://www.cambridge.org/us/books/kiple/cucumbers.htm
(accessed August 19, 2013).
[2] Aggie Horticulture, “Pickles
and Salads Owe a Debt to India,” Texas A&M Agrilife Extension, http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/archives/parsons/publications/vegetabletravelers/cucumber.html
(accessed August 19, 2013)
[3] Kiple & Ornelas, 2010.
[4] Aggie.
[5] “Watch Your Garden Grow –
Cucumber,” University of Illinois Extension, http://urbanext.illinois.edu/veggies/cucumber.cfm
(accessed August 19, 2013).
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