The grandkids are inquisitive, a personality trait certainly to be encouraged.
They want to know how the world works and why things are as they are. Family members try to answer any questions simply, honestly and clearly.
For example, when we are out to eat one will invariably point to another’s plate and ask, “Are you going to eat your pickle?”
Sometimes the person will have a generous moment and offer his or her pickle to the hungry inquirer. But just as often the simple, honest and clear answer is almost always a version of, “Why, Yes. Yes, I am. I love pickles.”
Pickles seem to be serious business in our family. This is why Becky and I have been excited for the last two years with the bumper crop of cucumbers our garden has produced. This time of year, we eat them with almost every meal, and still have enough to give away. The grandkids are as excited as we are.
Besides sliced cucumbers with maybe a little salt, we have compiled a variety of salad recipes built around these marvelous vegetables. We also have devoted an extensive study of various techniques for pickling cucumbers.
Although many foods can be pickled including vegetables, fruits, meats, dairy and eggs, we have concentrated this season on cucumbers. So far, we have made refrigerator pickles and bread-and-butter pickles. Our next attempt will be the time-intensive but delicious old-fashioned brined dill pickles. The technique sounds similar to making sauerkraut, which we made earlier in the summer.
At the beginning of 2021, Becky and I decided to read through the entire Bible. As gardeners and cucumber connoisseurs, it was a pleasant surprise to read that the Israelites also put a high premium on the elongated fruit of this creeping vine.
For example, in Numbers 11:5 the Israelites were grumbling that if only they had stayed in Egypt where they were slaves, they would still be eating melons, leeks, garlic, onions and cucumbers. Isn’t that such a human thing to do? Remembering only the good details about ones past?
Pickling is an ancient way to preserve and prolong foods using either fermentation in brine or immersion in vinegar. Archeologists tell us that cucumbers probably were first developed in ancient Mesopotamia and southern Asia around 2400 BCE, and believe it likely cucumbers were being pickled in ancient Iraq by 2030 BCE. For those living long ago, the reason to pickle food was to stretch out its shelf life. The discovery of the health benefits of pickling is of a more recent vintage.
Some health researchers point out pickled foods are almost super foods. There are health benefits from both fermented pickles and unfermented pickles in vinegar. Both types are an excellent source of vitamins A, K and C, as well as calcium and potassium.
Pickles contain anti-oxidants which reduces the damage free radicals can cause. Pickles, especially fermented ones, can improve digestive health. They help control diabetes and are good for weight loss. Some claim drinking pickle juice helps sore muscles after exercise. Of course, pickling requires salt so those on low-sodium diets need to be aware of that.
These days Becky and I are rich in cucumbers. It’s like the joke about people sneaking bags of extra garden produce onto their neighbor’s porches during the night. But we are fortunate in that we have a family that loves cucumbers as well as pickles.
So, for the rest of the season, when we are asked if we are going to eat our pickles, we can say, “Yes. Yes, we are. But we have plenty. Please take some.”
Norman Knight, a retired Clark-Pleasant Middle School teacher, writes this weekly column for the Daily Journal. Send comments to [email protected].
