Good Eats: ​“American Pickle”

Erica Cutts
Keene State College
Food Science HLSC 310
November 2, 2019
 “American Pickle”

Season 3, Episode 1 of the ​Cooking Channel ​show ​Good Eats,​ titled “American Pickle”

enthusiastically details the intriguing history and science behind the tradition of pickling. Host

Alton Brown delves into the two different “schools” of pickling, the types and effects of different

vinegars, how pickling ingredients determine the resulting pickle, and the distinctions between

pickling salt and kosher salt. As a lover of all things pickled, I was intrigued by the idea of

learning more about the age-old food preservation tradition. But before I go any further, it’s

important to know exactly what a pickle is. In short, a pickle is any food soaked, and thus

preserved, by an acid.

As mentioned above, there are two methods of pickling--through fermentation or

infusion. In the ​Good Eats​ episode, Alton Brown first discussed the fermentation method. In this

process, the pickle develops its sharp flavor from naturally occurring bacteria in the food that

“eat” the sugars and other carbohydrates, in turn producing lactic acid that preserves and adds

flavor to the food. The fermentation process takes a while though--weeks or even months.

The infusion process is much quicker, taking just hours or days, but requires that the

pickle maker bring the acid to the party (the acid usually being a vinegar). For this pickling

method, the acid (vinegar) and whatever flavorings one wants is brought to a boil and then added

to the food. The acid charges into the food, thus pickling it in a very short amount of time--as

mentioned above, hours or days.

This brings us to the matter of acid, which in the case of infusion pickling is vinegar.

Vinegar is a french word that literally means “sour wine” and is the result of aceto bacteria

“drinking up” all of the alcohol in beer or wine and turning it into acetic acid. It is a lengthy
process, but what’s neat is that the bacteria create what is known as a ‘mother’ colony that can be

moved from container to container converting the alcohol and making vinegar.

Vinegar can be made from all sorts of alcohol, and it’s pretty easy to guess what alcohol

makes what vinegar. Red wine vinegar is made from red wine, sherry vinegar from sherry wine,

apple cider vinegar from hard apple cider, white vinegar from grain alcohol, and so on. However,

balsamic vinegar is where it gets interesting. Commercial balsamic vinegar is just red wine

vinegar with added caramel for flavoring, but the real stuff is made from high-grade white wine

vinegar that goes through a ​very​ long aging process that allows it to become thick, brown, and

sweet.

Now that pickling methods and vinegar basics have been covered, it’s time to discuss

pickle ingredients. The basic pickle ingredients are vinegar, salt, water, and sugar. With that said,

there really is no specific ratio of ingredients that creates a perfect pickle. This is because one's

preferred pickle taste will dictate how much of the above ingredients are added. For example, a

sour pickle will use more vinegar and salt (and less sugar and water), but a sweeter pickle will

include more sugar and water (and less vinegar and salt). The same goes for any other pickle

additives, which commonly include turmeric, mustard seeds, dill, celery seeds, and garlic (which

is what actually makes pickles kosher).

Once the above ingredients have been combined (in whatever amounts the pickle maker

desires) the brine is then boiled for 4 minutes (to enhance flavors) and poured over the to-be

pickled food. This is known as a hot infusion, but a cold one follows a similar process just the

brine is poured over the food cool without prior boiling. This difference in temperature does
affect the pickling process though--a hot infusion will lead to a faster pickle, while a cold

infusion will take a bit longer.

This leads us to the topic of salt. When pickling, it’s strongly recommended that one use

pickling salt rather than regular table salt, even though they are chemically exactly the same.

This is due to the grind of the salt, pickling salt being much finer than kosher salt. This finer

ground allows the salt to much more readily dissolve into the liquid, which is especially helpful

when using the cold infusion method. With that said, if one doesn’t have pickling salt on hand,

kosher salt can be substituted as long as a hot infusion method is being used and extra focus is

spent on ensuring that the salt is completely dissolved. Also, if using kosher salt in place of

pickling salt, because pickling salt weighs more than an equal amount of kosher salt, more

kosher salt will be needed. Specifically, 1 ½ teaspoons of kosher salt will replace 1 teaspoon of

pickling salt in a recipe.

There is a surprising amount of food science that goes into the pickling process, much of

which could also be applied to other foods and recipes. I specifically could take what I learned

about fermentation and apply it to something like kombucha, which is a fermented tea. Making

kombucha is a process similar to making vinegar, except instead of the bacteria “eating” the

alcohol and turning it into acetic acid, the bacteria and yeast in kombucha turn the sugars into

ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide (Fredette, 2017). The process of making kombucha also results

in the creation of a mother colony, or scoby, which can then be used for further batches.

Another food science topic from the “American Pickle” episode that could be applied

elsewhere is that of infusion. Marinating, brines, broths, and so on all utilize the idea of an

infusion, imparting the flavor of a liquid into a solid. I can use what I learned about hot and cold
infusions when marinating foods (but not necessarily pickling them) like meat, grains, or

vegetables for soups and stews. I know that using a warm/hot liquid will pass on flavor quicker

than using a cold liquid, and can implement this when marinating and preparing foods and

wanting a desired flavor or strength of flavor.

Although many people think just of pickled cucumbers when they hear the word pickle, it

definitely is much more than that. Almost anything can be pickled, fruits, vegetables, fish, and

eggs (and beyond). This episode of ​Good Eats​ has almost convinced me to try my hand at

pickling--I’ve always wanted to try making kimchi.

 References

Cooking Channel. (2000, September 20). Good Eats: American Pickle. ​Good Eats​.

Fredette, T. (2017, October 13). Retrieved from https://blog.hannainst.com/kombucha-brewing