Food
A leading producer from the land of the pickled gherkin imparts his secrets.
A leading producer from the land of the pickled gherkin imparts his secrets.
American Joe McClure makes pickles – 1.5 million jars a year – in a former Ford Motor Company factory in Detroit. In 2006, he and his brother Bob turned a family pickle recipe into the basis of a multimillion-dollar bottling business that employs 30 people. During a recent visit to New Zealand to meet McClure’s Pickles stockists, McClure gave a group of food writers and pickle lovers the benefit of his artisan-food-making expertise.
As any visitor to the US will know, Americans love pickled gherkins, both the familiar tiny ones and the slightly larger variety known as kirby. The pickle found in most sandwiches accounts for about three-quarters of their gherkin consumption. The popularity of the tangy, punchy crunch of McClure’s Pickles has spread from the US to the UK, Australia and here. They appear on the shelves of 4000 retailers.
One of today’s food trends is eating fermented products, but preserved pickles of the McClure sort are unfermented and more straightforward to make at home.
The basic process for refrigerator pickles is to prepare fresh vegetables, cut them into a manageable size, add suitable herbs and spices and pack them in sterilised jars. A pickling brine is made by boiling wine or plain vinegar (not malted, yeast or balsamic), salt and a little sugar. This is poured over the vegetables while it’s hot. Well sealed with screw-on lids, the pickles will last several weeks in the fridge.
I also love the process of making pickled fish, by frying oily fillets and bathing them in an aromatic brine flavoured with vegetables and spices. This sweet-and-sour fish dish is called escabeche and is a popular recipe in Mediterranean and South American cuisines.
ESCABECHE
600g filleted fish, skin on
(mullet, kahawai, gurnard) 2 tsp salt
THE PICKLING BRINE: 1 tbsp olive oil
½ onion, thinly sliced 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced 1 stalk celery, thinly sliced 1 cup water
1 cup white wine vinegar 1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp coriander seeds
¼ tsp fennel seeds
½ tsp black peppercorns Pinch of chilli flakes
1 bay leaf
4 sprigs thyme
FOR FRYING THE FISH: 4 tbsp olive oil
Flour for dusting
The pickle found in most sandwiches in the US accounts for about threequarters of American gherkin consumption.
Season the fish fillets with salt and leave to sit while you make the pickling brine.
In a deep frying pan or heavy saucepan, heat one tablespoon of oil. Add the onion, garlic and celery and
cook over a very gentle heat until the vegetables are tender and soft. Add the water, vinegar, sugar and salt with all the herbs and spices. Bring this mixture to a boil, turn off the heat and let cool.
Heat the 4 tablespoons of oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Dredge the fish fillets in flour, shake off the excess and fry the fish in the hot oil until browned on both sides. Remove the fish to kitchen paper to drain and cool.
Once the fish and the brine are cool, place the fish in a glass or ceramic container, pour the brine over and leave to absorb the flavours for an hour or two. Refrigerate until needed and serve at room temperature with toast and butter.
The fish will keep for a week in the fridge.
Serves 4 as an entrée or as a snack.
Wine match: a dry sherry.
FRESH VEGETABLE REFRIGERATOR PICKLES
THE VEGETABLES:
BEANS:
400g beans, trimmed
2 cloves garlic, sliced
3 large sprigs dill
2 tsp black peppercorns
CARROTS:
500g small carrots, sliced lengthways
1 / 2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tsp black peppercorns
CUCUMBERS AND RED PEPPER:
1 large cucumber, sliced
1 red pepper, deveined, deseeded and thinly sliced 4-5 sprigs of fresh dill
1 tbsp fennel seeds
1 tsp black peppercorns
SWEET FENNEL:
1 large bulb sweet fennel, chopped
4 sprigs rosemary
1 tsp black mustard seeds
1 tsp pink peppercorns
BEETROOT:
3 medium beetroot, peeled and
cut into thin wedges
2 star anise pods
5 sprigs thyme
1 tsp yellow mustard seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
THE PICKLING LIQUID: 2 cups white wine vinegar 2 cups water
2 tbsp sea salt
2 tbsp granulated sugar
Prepare the jars by washing in soapy water and rinsing well with very hot water. Set aside to dry, or dry thoroughly by hand.
Prepare the vegetables by washing and drying
them and trimming and cutting them into the desired shapes and sizes.
In each jar, place the flavourings and seasonings (spices, herbs, etc) appropriate to each vegetable.
Pack the prepared vegetables into the jars on top of the flavourings and seasonings up to 1cm from the rim
To make the pickling liquid, combine the vinegar, water, salt and sugar in a saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the salt and sugar. Once the liquid comes to the boil, remove from the stove and pour the brine over the vegetables while still hot, filling each jar to within 1cm of the top. It may be that you don’t use all the brine, depending on the size of your jars.
Gently tap the jars on the bench a few times to remove all the air bubbles. Top off with more pickling brine if necessary.
Seal the jars by screwing on the rings until tight.
Let the jars cool to room temperature. Store the pickles in the refrigerator. The flavour of the pickles will improve as they age – try to wait at least 48 hours before opening. They will keep for up to 4 weeks if refrigerated.
Makes 5 medium jars of pickles.