The Joy of Pickling

The most comprehensive guide to pickling in print, now in its third edition with 300 recipes. Ziedrich covers every pickling tradition imaginable, from classic American dill pickles and bread-and-butter chips to Korean kimchi, Japanese tsukemono, Indian achar, and Middle Eastern torshi. The book covers both vinegar-based and lacto-fermented pickles, explaining the science and technique behind each method.

Why Start Here

This is Ziedrich’s masterwork, the book that established her reputation as a leading voice in home food preservation. It is more than a recipe collection. The opening chapters provide a thorough education in the science of pickling: how acidity preserves food, why salt concentration matters, what causes pickles to turn soft or hollow, and how to prevent mold in fermented pickles. That foundation means you can eventually improvise your own recipes with confidence.

The international scope is what makes this book irreplaceable. Most pickling guides are narrowly American. Ziedrich draws on traditions from Korea, Japan, China, India, the Middle East, and throughout Europe, giving you techniques and flavor combinations that would take years to discover on your own. Each recipe includes enough cultural context to understand where the pickle fits in its home cuisine.

The third edition added 50 new recipes with expanded coverage of fermentation techniques, making a book that was already comprehensive even more so. Whether you want to make a quick refrigerator pickle or a months-long fermented creation, the instructions are clear and reliable.

What to Expect

A substantial 480-page reference that rewards both reading and cooking. Recipes are organized by type and technique, making it easy to find what you need. The writing is knowledgeable and warm without being chatty. Expect to discover dozens of pickling traditions you never knew existed, and to develop a much deeper understanding of why pickles work the way they do.