A Conscious Feast by Nicole Aloni

Environmentally wise recipes and digestible information about essential Green topics

Pickling: A Turkish Delight

August 25th, 2009  |  Published in Green Living

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Pickling: A Turkish Delight
On the crest of our new national concern with sustainability and the necessity to stretch our food dollar, putting food by when it’s plentiful (and cheap) is experiencing a surge of popularity that’s causing the companies that produce canning supplies, to add extra shifts. Canning Across America —a nationwide, ad hoc collective of cooks, gardeners and food lovers committed to the revival of the lost art of “putting up” food—is growing by leaps and bounds as nearly everyone who hears about the organization wants to pitch in. They are organizing classes, seminars and jam parties across the country.
And no wonder. It feels as though this is something that, collectively, we just needed to be reminded of. Pickling is such a sustainable and rewarding cooking project. In a few hours, usually spent as a communal effort with friends or family, you’ve turned bags full of extra, about-to-rot tomatoes, zucchini, peaches or cucumbers into a flavorful pickle, relish, jam or sauce to be enjoyed all winter long. A can-a–thon is just as fun as a book club with the added bonus of putting food on the table year round.
When I recently joined the steering committee of passionate preservers in Seattle who are behind Canning Across America, I was reminded of 2 things, 1) this is something I want to get waaay better at and, 2) crazy pickle shops were one of the exotic highlights of my recent trip to Turkey. I went on a hunt for the pictures my friend Susan Kaufman took in our favorite shop.
Some kind of pickling, drying or preserving has been one of the ways to manage the pantry for as long as dining has been recorded.  Recipes for crazy pickled foods (like hummingbird tongues) from the decadent cooking of ancient Rome can still be found. Pickled foods are an ancient and popular aspect of traditional Turkish cuisine that is just as popular today.  “Pickle Delicatessens” are found throughout the country, often with a line snaking out the door and down the street.
Though there are many popular pickle shops in Istanbul, we only managed to find two during our week there.  I’m including pictures from our favorite: Petek Turşuları.They carried easily 50 varieties of pickled foods. The colorful, overwhelming display included all of the things you’d expect in a museum of pickling diorama: asparagus, garlic bulbs, cabbage, string beans, green peppers, cauliflower, okra, artichokes, eggs, and carrots.  But there were also some exotic surprises, like pickled pinecones, oranges, peaches, grapes, apricot and unripe melon.  I’ll admit it, the pinecone tasted weird.
In Turkey, they mostly use grape vinegar, lemon, garlic and a secret sea salt mixture to achieve brine that is flavorful without overwhelming the flavor of the food itself.   But still, your taste buds do get zapped sampling these bundles of pucker.  We gave it a shot and probably had nibbles of 15 or 20 exotic “pickles”.  We wound up buying asparagus, tomatoes and artichoke hearts to take back to our room in the Sultahnamet to enjoy with great Turkish bread and cheeses.
In case you want to make a pilgrimage the next time you’re in Istanbul, here’s their contact info:  Petek Turşuları, Petek opened in Balık Pazarı, Beyoğlu in 1992. It is open every day.
Istanbul Pickle Shop, photo Susan Kaufman

Istanbul Pickle Shop, photo Susan Kaufman

On the crest of our new national concern with sustainability and the necessity to stretch our food dollar, putting food by when it’s plentiful (and cheap) is experiencing a surge of popularity that’s causing canning supply manufacturers to add extra shifts. Canning Across America —a nationwide, ad hoc collective of cooks, gardeners and food lovers committed to the revival of the lost art of “putting up” food—is growing by leaps and bounds as nearly everyone who hears about the organization wants to pitch in. The weekend of Aug 29-30 is the big kick-off with classes, seminars and jam parties across the country.

And no wonder. Pickling, preserving and canning are such sustainable and rewarding cooking projects. In a few hours, usually spent as a communal effort with friends or family, you’ve turned bags full of extra, about-to-rot tomatoes, zucchini, peaches or cucumbers into a flavorful pickle, relish, jam or sauce to be enjoyed all winter long. A can-a–thon is just as fun as a book club with the added bonus of putting food on the table year round.

When I recently joined the steering committee of passionate preservers in Seattle who are behind Canning Across America, I was reminded of 2 things, 1) this is something I want to get waaay better at and, 2) crazy pickle shops were one of the exotic highlights of my recent trip to Turkey. I went on a hunt for the pictures my friend Susan Kaufman took in our favorite shop run by a trio of  friendly, (perhaps pickled?) brothers.

Petek Tursulari, photo Susan Kaufman

Petek Tursulari, photo Susan Kaufman

Some kind of pickling, drying or preserving has been one of the ways to manage the pantry for as long as dining has been recorded. In Turkey, pickling is an ancient and popular aspect of their traditional cuisine that is just as popular today.  “Pickle delicatessens” are found throughout the country, often with a line snaking out the door and down the street.

Though there are many popular pickle shops in Istanbul, I’m including pictures from our favorite: Petek Turşuları.They carried easily 50 varieties of pickled foods. The colorful, overwhelming display included all of the things you’d expect in the diorama at a museum of pickling: asparagus, garlic bulbs, cabbage, string beans, green peppers, cauliflower, okra, artichokes, eggs, and carrots.  But there were also some exotic surprises, like pickled pinecones, oranges, peaches, grapes, apricot and unripe melon. I’ll admit it, the pinecone tasted weird.

In Petek Turşuları, they most often use grape vinegar, lemon, garlic and a secret sea salt mixture to achieve brine that is flavorful without overwhelming the flavor of the food itself.  But still, your taste buds do get zapped sampling these bundles of pucker.  We gave it a shot and probably had nibbles of 15 or 20 exotic “pickles”.  We wound up buying asparagus, tomatoes and artichoke hearts to take back to our room in the Sultahnamet to enjoy with great Turkish bread and cheeses.

In case you want to make a pilgrimage the next time you’re in Istanbul, here’s their contact info:  Petek Turşuları, Petek opened in Balık Pazarı, Beyoğlu in 1992. It is open every day. (No website available at time of this post).

Recipes for putting up food can be found at the recipe page at Canning Across America, and I will be posting my own Tomato Orange Jam this week. It is one of my all time favorite creations.

photo Susan Kaufman

photo Susan Kaufman

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