Pickled cucumber

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A jar of pickled cucumbers

For other uses, see Pickled cucumber (disambiguation).

A pickled cucumber is a popular pickled fruit found in many cuisines around the world (see Pickling). In the U.S. and Canada, a pickled cucumber is usually simply called a pickle.

1 Origin
2 Types of cucumber pickles
3 Process
4 Gherkin
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Origin

Cucumbers were probably first pickled 4400 years ago in Mesopotamia,^{[citation needed]} from where it spread around the world across trade routes, reaching China as early as the second century BC^{[citation needed]}. Cucumber-pickling might have spread through the Jewish diaspora^{[citation needed]}. Cucumber pickling was also known to the Ancient Greeks (Aristotle is reported to have praised pickled cucumbers^{[citation needed]}) and Ancient Egyptians. Roman citizens valued pickled cucumbers as delicacies, and many different techniques were developed. Cucumber pickling remained widespread across the Levant and the Maghrib, where it is still very popular today.

[edit] Types of cucumber pickles

Many different types of cucumber pickles can be made.

In Central and Western Europe, the brine is often flavoured with dill and garlic.

Scandinavian pickled cucumber (smörgåsgurka) recipes often adds peppercorns and sugar.

Egyptian pickled cucumber (torshi) adds celery, garlic and vinegar to the brine.

In China and Korea, one adds garlic and ginger to the brine. Kimchi pickling requires adding kimchi chiles and in some cases radish juice to the preparation.

Russian and Central Asian preparations also add radish juice and leaves to the preparation, and use garlic almost exclusively.

In Argentina, pickled cucumber is prepared with bay leaves, sugar and added vinegar, often fruit vinegar or wine vinegar.

[edit] Process

(See also: Pickling)

Cucumber pickling is almost universally done through a brine fermentation process. Ripe cucumbers are selected, washed and salted thoroughly, and then added to a brine solution for a number of weeks. Vinegar, sugar and spices can be added to the process, depending on the technique used.

[edit] Gherkin

A gherkin is not only a pickle of a certain size but also a particular species of cucumber: the West Indian or Burr cucumber (Cucumis anguria), which produces a somewhat smaller fruit than the garden cucumber (Cucumis sativus). Some pickles are made from the West Indian cucumber, but most pickles, even some called gherkins, are made from the garden cucumber.