Please help me source the Funkiest of all Pickles
December 8, 2020 12:12 PM Subscribe
My partner likes really strong, funky fermentation flavors. I'd like to surprise and delight them some interesting pickles for the holidays. Where should I get the best, funkiest, most-pickle-y of pickles?
Their preferred flavor profile is, "the more intense the better", like olive brine and sauerkraut juices in foods and soups. While I consider myself having a fairly open palate, and enjoy things like the sourness of lemons, and regular and slightly intense pickles of all varieties, and olives, and dill, they are (several) steps above that in their preferences.
Where can I get some strong, interesting pickles or fermented foods that would catch their palate, and make them go, "oooh"? Sour and salty is best, I think, as opposed to sweet. Locally sourced from around the SF Bay Area would be great, but not necessary.
Thanks!
Their preferred flavor profile is, "the more intense the better", like olive brine and sauerkraut juices in foods and soups. While I consider myself having a fairly open palate, and enjoy things like the sourness of lemons, and regular and slightly intense pickles of all varieties, and olives, and dill, they are (several) steps above that in their preferences.
Where can I get some strong, interesting pickles or fermented foods that would catch their palate, and make them go, "oooh"? Sour and salty is best, I think, as opposed to sweet. Locally sourced from around the SF Bay Area would be great, but not necessary.
Thanks!
Natto!
posted by inexorably_forward at 12:51 PM on December 8, 2020
posted by inexorably_forward at 12:51 PM on December 8, 2020
I don't know what the situation is like these days, or if you feel comfortable going in a grocery store (I don't), but as of a couple years ago, Mitsuwa in San Jose had a corner in the back of the store that was its own little Japanese pickle shop. Garlic cloves in rice bran, etc. etc. If you told the shop worker there you're looking for strong flavors, they could probably help you.
posted by wintersweet at 12:52 PM on December 8, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by wintersweet at 12:52 PM on December 8, 2020 [3 favorites]
Volcano Kimchi looks promising, as long as your friend doesn't care for spicy (despite the name the FAQ says it's mild). Sinto is probably hotter. Or just hit up your local Korean grocery store.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 12:52 PM on December 8, 2020
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 12:52 PM on December 8, 2020
I love Eastern European lactofermented dill cucumbers. They aren't widely available where I live now, so I regularly make my own -- but I would expect them to be sold in a sufficiently cosmopolitan city. I would look in a Jewish deli. If you're interested in making your own I'd be happy to share my recipe (it's one of the "easy" ferments because it requires no starter).
posted by confluency at 1:07 PM on December 8, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by confluency at 1:07 PM on December 8, 2020 [1 favorite]
Like confluency, I've been on a kick for lactofermented pickles, or what Jewish delis would call "half-sour." (I miss the pickled green tomatoes from the Carnegie Deli.) These half-sour pickles are refrigerated. They've not been cooked at all. They are also saltier than supermarket jarred pickles. That's part of what I like about their flavor. I find them at Trader Joe's and at my natural food store. Sometimes at my grocery store. But remember they're refrigerated and so not sold with the "normal" pickles.
FYI, this method of pickling is the original approach. A washed vegetable like cucumbers, green tomatoes, or shredded cabbage for sauerkraut, is packaged with a heavy salt brine and no vinegar. The salt knocks down bad bacteria but the lactic acid bacteria co-exists with the salt brine, making acid. A similar bacteria is what gives the special sour taste to sour dough bread.
As others have suggested, kimchi would also seem to answer your call. Now I find it in my supermarket in a small Southern city, so it's not rare anymore.
posted by tmdonahue at 1:32 PM on December 8, 2020 [4 favorites]
FYI, this method of pickling is the original approach. A washed vegetable like cucumbers, green tomatoes, or shredded cabbage for sauerkraut, is packaged with a heavy salt brine and no vinegar. The salt knocks down bad bacteria but the lactic acid bacteria co-exists with the salt brine, making acid. A similar bacteria is what gives the special sour taste to sour dough bread.
As others have suggested, kimchi would also seem to answer your call. Now I find it in my supermarket in a small Southern city, so it's not rare anymore.
posted by tmdonahue at 1:32 PM on December 8, 2020 [4 favorites]
Call Asian markets in your area; they probably carry kimchhi made locally by an Asian person. I love it. If you like it hotter, it's easy to order more Korean red pepper as powder, flakes, or paste, to bump up the heat. You could also get extra Korean salted shrimp to increase the umami.
And be on the lookout for anyone local making sauerkraut; fresh kraut is delicious. Morse's Sauerkraut, Waldoboro, Maine, sells the real deal and I can attest to its deliciousness.
posted by theora55 at 1:51 PM on December 8, 2020
And be on the lookout for anyone local making sauerkraut; fresh kraut is delicious. Morse's Sauerkraut, Waldoboro, Maine, sells the real deal and I can attest to its deliciousness.
posted by theora55 at 1:51 PM on December 8, 2020
Seconding Indian pickled things. Hibiscus is the best, but many others are nice. The only place I know to find it seems to have closed recently. "Mixed pickles" are also good and available in far more grocery stores.
Japanese tsukemono is less strong, but also good. There are jars in many Asian-themed stores with words like "eat with rice" written on them that are shelf stable and easy to wrap. (Pickles from other places that I know less about, but are tasty, may be nearby.)
In the Bay Area, I'd consider asking Viks Chaat or possibly Ajanta (which is just a resturant, not a store, but has very good pickles) if they'll sell you a bucket of pickles, or visiting the pickled stuff aisle at 99 Ranch Market.
posted by eotvos at 1:55 PM on December 8, 2020 [2 favorites]
Japanese tsukemono is less strong, but also good. There are jars in many Asian-themed stores with words like "eat with rice" written on them that are shelf stable and easy to wrap. (Pickles from other places that I know less about, but are tasty, may be nearby.)
In the Bay Area, I'd consider asking Viks Chaat or possibly Ajanta (which is just a resturant, not a store, but has very good pickles) if they'll sell you a bucket of pickles, or visiting the pickled stuff aisle at 99 Ranch Market.
posted by eotvos at 1:55 PM on December 8, 2020 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Hi! I appreciate all the responses.
I'd love recommendations for specific products or stores, so things like "Morse's Sauerkraut" or "Volcano Kimchi" are better than "fresh-made sauerkraut" or "kimchi made locally by an Asian person". Both sauerkraut and kimchi, though delicious, are already regularly consumed and therefore way too tame - for example, I thought Sinto Kimchi was mild.
Perhaps I am just looking for very intensely flavored food, as opposed to specifically pickled?
posted by wym at 4:12 PM on December 8, 2020
I'd love recommendations for specific products or stores, so things like "Morse's Sauerkraut" or "Volcano Kimchi" are better than "fresh-made sauerkraut" or "kimchi made locally by an Asian person". Both sauerkraut and kimchi, though delicious, are already regularly consumed and therefore way too tame - for example, I thought Sinto Kimchi was mild.
Perhaps I am just looking for very intensely flavored food, as opposed to specifically pickled?
posted by wym at 4:12 PM on December 8, 2020
I think what you want is Indian pickle. There are literally hundreds of different kinds and they are a FLAVOR EXPLOSION!
Spicy! Sour! Salty! Wow!
I like this one a lot: Priya Mixed Vegetable Pickle
Or you can make your own using Usha's Pickle Digest--there was a really great article about her in the NYT last year.
posted by exceptinsects at 4:25 PM on December 8, 2020 [4 favorites]
Spicy! Sour! Salty! Wow!
I like this one a lot: Priya Mixed Vegetable Pickle
Or you can make your own using Usha's Pickle Digest--there was a really great article about her in the NYT last year.
posted by exceptinsects at 4:25 PM on December 8, 2020 [4 favorites]
Oh! and umeboshi (japanese pickled plums), if you aren't already eating them. I like the big squashy ones rather than the little hard ones.
And shibazuke, made with eggplant and shiso! Mouthwatering and tangy! So good!
Both of these can be found at any Japanese market, I'm sure there are several in SF.
posted by exceptinsects at 4:34 PM on December 8, 2020 [2 favorites]
And shibazuke, made with eggplant and shiso! Mouthwatering and tangy! So good!
Both of these can be found at any Japanese market, I'm sure there are several in SF.
posted by exceptinsects at 4:34 PM on December 8, 2020 [2 favorites]
Horseradish pickles! There's a little Russian deli in Topeka, KS, that makes the most pungent pickles I've ever had. They're delightful and not for the faint-hearted. Which doesn't help you since Porubsky's doesn't ship, but I think it might be worthwhile to check out Eastern European delis -- like Seakor Polish Deli -- for their pickles.
posted by rewil at 5:49 PM on December 8, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by rewil at 5:49 PM on December 8, 2020 [1 favorite]
Not quite an answer to your question, but if they’re into pickled/fermented food, enjoy cooking/preparing food, and don’t already have a copy of The Art of Fermentation, it could be a pretty fantastic gift for them.
posted by Jawn at 6:44 PM on December 8, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by Jawn at 6:44 PM on December 8, 2020 [3 favorites]
You need Yume Boshi Plums, from Oakland! The site has retail locations (eg Berkeley Bowl.)
I’d also suggest Indian Green Mango Pickle. There are many brands, actually I preferred the Patak’s one that is quite readily available at Indian groceries or even online.
posted by The Toad at 8:41 PM on December 8, 2020
I’d also suggest Indian Green Mango Pickle. There are many brands, actually I preferred the Patak’s one that is quite readily available at Indian groceries or even online.
posted by The Toad at 8:41 PM on December 8, 2020
Possibly this is obvious, but if you’re looking for sour and salty, you should get some Moroccan-style preserved lemons. I can’t suggest a brand because I’m on the wrong continent, sorry.
posted by Bloxworth Snout at 2:00 AM on December 9, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Bloxworth Snout at 2:00 AM on December 9, 2020 [1 favorite]
Oh and if you do find yourself in a middle eastern grocery, you might as well pick up some of those fluorescent pink pickled turnips as well.
posted by Bloxworth Snout at 2:03 AM on December 9, 2020
posted by Bloxworth Snout at 2:03 AM on December 9, 2020
Adding one for Indian curry-house lime pickle.
Lacto-fermentation made at home with 5-10% salt solution in vacuum-packed bags has yielded pungent garlic cloves, sour-fiery chilis and, a surprising winner, pineapple that has sweet, sour, funky and salty in its flavour profile.
Products-wise I couldn't name a producer and wouldn't know where to start shopping -- but making is easy and needs a few weeks waiting for the packages to do their thing in a cool dark place.
posted by k3ninho at 4:43 AM on December 9, 2020
Lacto-fermentation made at home with 5-10% salt solution in vacuum-packed bags has yielded pungent garlic cloves, sour-fiery chilis and, a surprising winner, pineapple that has sweet, sour, funky and salty in its flavour profile.
Products-wise I couldn't name a producer and wouldn't know where to start shopping -- but making is easy and needs a few weeks waiting for the packages to do their thing in a cool dark place.
posted by k3ninho at 4:43 AM on December 9, 2020
Fermented radishes smell like farts and stinky cheese, and they taste delicious: not intensely sour, but strong, rich, and complicated.
Normal kimchi often has some radish in it. In my area of the US, East Asian groceries carry kkakdugi/깍두기 made with no cabbage, just cubes of Korean radish. It's about as spicy as regular kimchi, and it's got a funkier taste. They also have Japanese pickled daikon (which is a kind of tsukemono, like eotvos was talking about upthread). Those are usually yellow and wrapped in plastic, and they're not spicy at all, but very, very rich, a bit sweet, and also weird and complex. It's worth shelling out for more expensive ones, which get more of their flavor from fermentation and not artificial flavors.
I don't have brand suggestions on either of those. I think what you can get will probably depend on your region. But if you're shopping at an East Asian grocery and not buying the cheapest thing on the shelf, you'll probably get something good and strong and interesting. I've never seen either of them at a mainstream American white people grocery store.
You can also make a very simple version of fermented radishes by slicing plain American radishes or daikon into thin slices, salting them, weighing them down with something clean, and leaving them out for a few days. Radishes are very juicy, so they make their own brine: the salt draws water out and it will rise to cover them. The longer you leave them, the richer and stinkier they get, so calibrate to taste. Add spice by adding the fresh or dried chile of your choice to the jar. These make a very good sandwich pickle.
Anyway hi I love radishes and I hope you will love radishes.
posted by nebulawindphone at 5:44 AM on December 9, 2020 [2 favorites]
Normal kimchi often has some radish in it. In my area of the US, East Asian groceries carry kkakdugi/깍두기 made with no cabbage, just cubes of Korean radish. It's about as spicy as regular kimchi, and it's got a funkier taste. They also have Japanese pickled daikon (which is a kind of tsukemono, like eotvos was talking about upthread). Those are usually yellow and wrapped in plastic, and they're not spicy at all, but very, very rich, a bit sweet, and also weird and complex. It's worth shelling out for more expensive ones, which get more of their flavor from fermentation and not artificial flavors.
I don't have brand suggestions on either of those. I think what you can get will probably depend on your region. But if you're shopping at an East Asian grocery and not buying the cheapest thing on the shelf, you'll probably get something good and strong and interesting. I've never seen either of them at a mainstream American white people grocery store.
You can also make a very simple version of fermented radishes by slicing plain American radishes or daikon into thin slices, salting them, weighing them down with something clean, and leaving them out for a few days. Radishes are very juicy, so they make their own brine: the salt draws water out and it will rise to cover them. The longer you leave them, the richer and stinkier they get, so calibrate to taste. Add spice by adding the fresh or dried chile of your choice to the jar. These make a very good sandwich pickle.
Anyway hi I love radishes and I hope you will love radishes.
posted by nebulawindphone at 5:44 AM on December 9, 2020 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Also, if preserved fish counts, please treat yourself on a special occasion and mail-order some fancy-ass pickled herring and eat it on buttered bread. I suppose it might not be the utter overwhelming slap-you-in-the-face experience your partner seems to be looking for, but in my experience it's often too much for novices, and it's wonderful: sour and salty and fatty and rich.
posted by nebulawindphone at 5:54 AM on December 9, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by nebulawindphone at 5:54 AM on December 9, 2020 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thank you all! I don't think any of these are quite right for what I'm looking for as a holiday gift, but it's certainly gotten me excited about home- and grocery-store pickling, and I'm excited to try this variety of pickled/fermented foods in the near future!
posted by wym at 10:06 PM on December 21, 2020
posted by wym at 10:06 PM on December 21, 2020
This thread is closed to new comments.
I don't know if I would consider these more intense or pickle-y but what about things like Indian lime pickles, kimchi, or tsukemono? ie maybe if they're more used to "Western/European" pickles maybe just try pickles from some other region may be a welcome change.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 12:30 PM on December 8, 2020 [3 favorites]