Pickle & Preserve

Radishes, contrastingly crunchy and peppery to tender and sweet pears, take rather well to modern pickling, the sort that is less about preserving and more about making something to shake other flavors from their shyness.

Crisp pickled vegetables go brilliantly with cocktails (or with sandwiches, a hunk of cheese, a juicy steak...the possibilities are endless). Fresh ginger and dried chiles give them a bracing boost and orange juice plays up their natural sweetness.

If the raw honey you find is solid at room temperature, warm it in the microwave or in a saucepan over low heat to bring it back to a liquid state before using.

This spicy-tangy-funky condiment is delicious on grilled fish, grain bowls, braises, and stews—basically anything that needs a touch of acid and heat.

You can spread the cloves on grilled bread, marinate olives and feta with the garlicky oil, mash cloves into store-bought mayo, or stir into mashed potatoes.

You can store this all-purpose sweet-and-spicy vinegar in clean mason jars, but it is easier to keep it in repurposed glass bottles. Note that this recipe can be adjusted as you like—try using different chiles or other spices like bay leaf.

Use this fruit compote to fill pastries, spoon over ice cream, or mix into smoothies.

Adding a full tablespoon of cocktail bitters toward the end of making this jam does wonders to bring out the berry flavor. Spoon onto toast with ricotta, or enjoy by the spoonful.

This technique is nothing short of amazing—even if you're finicky about your pickles.

You can use any thinly shaved or sliced vegetable you like, and customize your sandwiches accordingly.

Mustard seeds that have been plumped in a pickle brine can really make a dish. They provide texture and crunch, heat and sweetness.

These sweet and very tangy neon pickles pair best with grilled meats, stews, and braises.

Whether it's part of a Japanese breakfast or a classic bagel spread, smoked fish is never a bad idea.

This pickled shrimp recipe is perfect for a special occasion—perhaps as one part of an hors d'oeuvres spread at Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Year's Eve. The tangy pickled shrimp can be prepared in 45 minutes or less, though they require a bit of additional unattended time.

This retro-style platter of pickled vegetables and crudités makes a refreshing addition to a decadent holiday dinner table.

Adding olive oil to this hot sauce recipe lends it body and mellows some of the heat.

Don’t let the veggies hang out in the vinegar for too long. You want them to stay crunchy!

Pickling berries is a great way to make the most of seasonal produce. Try them over ice cream and salad.

Here’s your opportunity to use up berries that are slightly past their prime. This recipe method concentrates the berries’ flavors, so the more delicious they are to begin with, the better they will be dried. At Craftsman and Wolves in San Francisco, CA, William Werner combines them with raw berries in tarts or adds them to arugula salads. They're chewy—a bit softer than a dried apricot—with a plump, juicy consistency.

Cabbage is perfect for fermenting because the cell walls are easily broken down with salt, and the juices that are released quite easily make the brine. While you are chopping and grating your cabbage, eat a piece raw. It will be crunchy and sweet. After fermentation it will be pretty crunchy still, shiny and alive-looking; the sugars will have been eaten by the lactobacillus bacteria (et al); and the sauer that you taste is the lactic acid cleverly produced by the lactobacillus.