Why? Because you can! And pickle, and jam, or otherwise celebrate the resurgence of the domestic arts our forebears held so dear. Put on your best apron and step into our kitchen, won't you?
Pickled carrots, without vinegar. They're tangy, briny and just a little bit sweet. The trick? Lacto-fermentation, which is far scarier sounding than it is.
Curing olives in spring? Yep. The best oil-cured black olives come from olives that are very ripe. If you can get your hands on ripe black olives, this is just about the easiest cure there is.
It is elderflower season here in Northern California, and this is always the first thing I do with the aromatic flowers. Add a little of this syrup to seltzer (or vodka) and you have yourself a fancy drink...
Spring is high artichoke season, and unless you live on the California coast, you need to preserve some now to enjoy later. This method of pickling keeps the artichokes nice and firm.
How to make authentic andouille sausages at home. Yes, there are as many recipes for andouille as there are Cajuns, but I'm pretty proud of mine. Plus, it's made with venison.
Not quite a pickled mushroom, and more than a marinated mushroom, this is the Italian preservation technique called sott'olio, which results in an especially meaty preserved shroom -- especially if you use porcini or chanterelles.
Homemade hot sauce from wild chiles, the chiltepins of the Sonoran desert - the only chile native to the United States. This is a fiery sauce that hits you hard up front, then fades to a lingering savory flavor.
This is what you do when life gives you unripe grapes. Made with wild or domestic grapes, verjus (verjuice) is just the strained juice of unripe grapes. You use it like a mild vinegar. Best part? Verjus plays well with wine, where vinegar does not.
