Pickling

Pickling preserves food or makes it last longer by fermenting it without oxygen in salty water or by soaking it in vinegar. This process changes how the food feels and tastes. The final product is known as a pickle, or if it has a specific name, that name is preceded by "pickled." Foods that get pickled include vegetables, fruits, mushrooms, meats, fish, dairy, and eggs. The solutions used for pickling are usually very acidic, with a pH of 4.6 or lower, and high in salt.

This stops enzymes from working and prevents microbes from multiplying. Pickling can keep perishable foods edible for months, sometimes years. People often add antimicrobial herbs and spices like mustard seed, garlic, cinnamon, or cloves. If the food has enough moisture, just adding dry salt can create a pickling brine.

For instance, sour cabbage, sauerkraut, and kimchi are made by salting vegetables to pull out extra water. Natural fermentation at room temperature, driven by lactic acid bacteria, creates the needed acidity. Other pickles are made by putting vegetables straight into vinegar. Unlike canning, pickling—including fermentation—does not require the food to be completely sterile.

The acidity or saltiness of the solution, the fermentation temperature, and how much oxygen is kept out determine which microbes take over and what the final flavor will be. When both salt concentration and temperature are low, Leuconostoc mesenteroides dominates, producing a mix of acids, alcohol, and aroma compounds. At higher temperatures, Lactobacillus plantarum takes over, mainly producing lactic acid. Many pickles start with Leuconostoc and switch to Lactobacillus as acidity rises.

Ancient history

Pickling with vinegar likely began in ancient Persia and Mesopotamia around 2400 BCE. There is archaeological evidence of cucumbers being pickled in the Tigris Valley in 2030 BCE. Pickling vegetables in vinegar kept developing in the Middle East before spreading to the Maghreb, Sicily, and Spain. From Spain, it reached the Americas.

Fermented salt pickling reportedly started in China. Both textual and archaeological evidence shows that salting and pickling to preserve food were practiced in the Greek and Roman world. During the Age of Exploration, pickling was used to preserve food for out-of-season use and for long journeys, especially by sea. Salt pork and salt beef were common staples for sailors before steam engines existed.

Etymology

Although the process was invented to preserve foods, people also make and eat pickles because they enjoy the resulting flavors. Pickling may also boost the nutritional value of food by adding B vitamins produced by bacteria. The English word "pickle" first appears around 1400 CE. It comes from the Middle English pikel, a spicy sauce served with meat or fish, borrowed from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German pekel ("brine"), but later referred to preserving in brine or vinegar.

The Persian term torshi (ترشی) applies to pickled vegetables in many Middle Eastern, Caucasian, Slavic, and Balkan cuisines. It ultimately derives from Persian torsh meaning 'sour' (ترش). This Persian word is borrowed with minor variations in many languages: Kurdish tirşîn, tirşî, trshin; Turkish and Azerbaijani turşu; Greek τουρσί (toursí); Bosnian, Croatian, Montenegrin, Serbian, Macedonian, Bulgarian turšija/туршија/туршия (turshiya); Albanian turshi; Judeo-Spanish trushí. In Iran, Armenia, Turkey, Arab countries, Northern Africa, the Balkans, and some other West Asian countries, pickles called torshi or mekhallel are a pickled mix of cucumbers, turnips, onions, carrots, olives, or other regional vegetables.

Toursi is a traditional appetizer (meze) to go with arak, rakı, ouzo, oghi, tsipouro, and rakia. In some regions, notably Turkey (turşu suyu), the pickle juice or torshi water is a popular beverage. In 2021, Turkey's pickle exports reached $300 million. Iran has hundreds of types of torshi (تورشی), based on regional customs and different events.

Asia

In some families, no meal is considered complete without a bowl of torshi on the table. In Armenia and Armenian cuisine, it is called t’tu (թթու) and is often eaten as an appetizer. Vegetables used include cabbage, cucumber, tomato, carrot, cauliflower, beetroot, eggplant, bell pepper, garlic, onion, and turnip, often preserved in brine or vinegar and spiced with garlic, herbs, or chili. It is served alongside other Armenian appetizers like topik, lavash, aboukh/basturma, sujukh, and matsoon.

It is also often used in wraps such as the brduch. In Egypt, pickled vegetables are called both torshi (طرشي) and mekhallel (مخلل). Both terms refer to all varieties of pickled vegetables, including carrots, cucumbers, turnips, garlic, onions, cauliflower, and hot peppers, preserved in a vinegar-based brine infused with spices such as nigella seeds, black pepper, and bay leaves. It is common on Egyptian tables, especially for breakfast.

Cabbage, carrots, and bell peppers pickled in vinegar are commonly eaten in Israel. Pickled vegetables are considered pareve, meaning they contain no meat or dairy and can be eaten with either while following Jewish dietary laws. South Asia has a large variety of pickles (known as achar (अचार, اچار) in Nepali, Assamese, Bengali, Hindi, Punjabi, Gujarati, Urdu; uppinakaayi in Kannada; lonacha (लोणचं) in Marathi; uppilittathu or achar in Malayalam; oorukai in Tamil; pacchadi (పచ్చడి) or ooragaya (ఊరగాయ) in Telugu), which are mainly made from varieties of mango, lemon, lime, gongura (a sour leafy shrub), tamarind, Indian gooseberry (amla), and chili. Vegetables such as eggplant, carrots, cauliflower, tomato, bitter gourd, green tamarind, ginger, garlic, onion, and citron are also used.