Pickling 101

"Putting by" food isn't just practical—it's a way of reconnecting to our culinary past.

Credit: Laurie Smith

In their book Home Made in the Kitchen (Viking Studio Books, 1995), Barry Bluestein and Kevin Morrissey simplify some basic pickling techniques:

FOR HOT SEALING: Submerge empty jars and flat metal seals in boiling water until ready to use. Fill and seal jars one by one.

FOR A HOT-WATER BATH: Place jars on a wire rack in the bottom of a tall 8-quart stockpot. Fill the pot with water to cover the jars by 2". Remove the jars, bring the water to a boil, and use tongs to lower the jars into the boiling water for the time the recipe specifies. Remove jars from pot and set aside to cool.

This article was first published in Saveur in Issue #5

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Comments (4)

by carolie on 2010-03-29

I'm confused...this is not a particularly helpful article AT ALL. One cannot simply can any foods with a hot water bath -- only certain jellies and pickles.

Also, though you do want to sterilize your jar lids, if you pop the flat metal seal part of the lid into boiling water and leave them there while you are making your pickles, they won't seal well at all, as being submersed in constantly boiling water for any amount of time will ruin the sealing stuff!

by PATTYJM59@YAHOO.COM on 2010-05-27

carolie makes a good point; green beans especially, along with other non-acidic foods, MUST MUST MUST be canned in a pressure canner to prevent food poisoning. The only exception is if they are pickled rather than straight-up canned. And you are only supposed to dip the lids in boiling water, not let them sit in it for any length of time. Thanks, carolie, for pointing out these very important tips!!!

Here's another that I use: I keep the sterilized jars upside down on a cookie sheet in a 250 degree oven so that they remain hot and sterile until I am ready to add the ingredients.

by ROSE QUEEN on 2012-01-09

This little stub of an article is not just useless, it's potentially dangerous, for the reasons set out by the two prior posters. It doesn't tell anybody jack about pickling and what it does say is just wrong. I expect better of Saveur.

by LIZPOARCH on 2012-08-11

Saveur should remove this reference from the website--or at the very least not list the link at the end of the recipe for Cherry Tomato-Vanilla Bean Preserves. The first question that arises is how long to leave the preserves in the boiling water bath. And after 50 years of canning I can confirm that the information is innaccurate. I am surprised that following up on the 3 comments above dated as far back as 2009, it is still here. Isn't the magazine legally at risk and vulnerable?

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