Pickles

If it were a Sunday morning in the ’70s, you might find my family bundled into our silver Dodge Dart, its formidable snout pointing us out of the New York suburbs and toward the city. I am sure the stated purpose of these trips was culture, but not in my mind. In my mind it was pickles. I was a kid obsessed with the half-sours fetched from a barrel on the street at Guss’ Pickles in the Lower East Side. (Guss’ recently relocated to Brooklyn, changing its name to Ess-a-Pickle due to a lawsuit.

The Wellesley Farmers Market is set to open for the season on May 3 in the parking area at Whole Foods Market, 442 Washington St. The season will run through Oct. 26, with farmers selling locally grown fruits and vegetables, cheeses, artisan breads, jams, pickles, flowers, plants, and herbs. The market will celebrate the beginning of the season from 2 to 6 p.m. May 10 with performances by musicians from the high school and smoothies from Land's Sake farm.

Makes about 12 jars If standing over the pickle kettle seems a bit too steamy, you can also make a simple refrigerated version of Field's asparagus pickles. They take 24 hours to mellow but never have the same bite as the long method. Follow the recipe for asparagus pickles. Prepare and boil the brine, then pack the asparagus with the cherry peppers and peppercorns in clean jars. Top the asparagus with the hot brine, and let the jars cool uncovered. Cover with the lids and refrigerate for at least 24 hours.

Makes 12 If you have eaten a rubbery pickled egg and sworn off them, try again using the steam-cook or simmer-and-rest method. How gently the eggs are cooked affects how hard they become in the brine. The cider vinegar here is diluted with water, which averts the dreaded rubbery texture of pickled eggs. 1 large or 2 small beets (about ½ pound total), peeled and thickly sliced 1 cup beet cooking water 3 cups cider vinegar 1 tablespoon coarse kosher salt, pickling salt, or coarse sea salt 1 tablespoon yellow mustard seeds 1 teaspoon coriander seeds 1 teaspoon...

Many growers sell fresh white onions, which are more mild then regular onions. Use 2 fresh white onions or 1 white or sweet onion. The pickle is ready to eat after a couple hours in the fridge. It will keep for a week if you turn the slices in the vinegar from time to time. If you have pickling cukes, use 10. 4 waxless slicing cucumbers (skin intact), very thinly sliced 1 white or sweet onion, halved and thinly sliced About ¼ cup white wine vinegar Salt and pepper, to taste 4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or dill 1. ...

FRYEBURG, Maine - Don't try this at home, but they'll be pitching cast-iron skillets tomorrow at the 157th Fryeburg Fair. Last year's top honors went to Lisa Moore for a toss of 56 feet, 1 inch. It's just part of the fun as roughly 300,000 people pour into this tiny western Maine town for the fair, which begins today and wraps up next Sunday. It's a world of pig scrambles (kids 8-10 capture piglets in sacks), tractor pulls, and harness racing with parimutuel betting. The midway will crank with whirling and spinning rides; the hurdy-gurdy man will stroll the grounds; and barbershop quartets,...

1. Fill a stockpot with enough water to cover your jars by 1 inch. Bring to a boil. 2. Inspect canning jars for cracks and discard defective ones. Thoroughly wash the jars in hot soapy water or run through the dishwasher. Wash lids and screw bands. To ensure a good seal, work only with unused lids each time. 3. Fill jars to within ¼ inch of the top with hot pickles. Wipe the rim of the jar with a clean, wet paper towel before adding the lid. Screw on the bands.

Serves 6 Some pickles, like this one, are instant. Slice the cukes, let them sit briefly with salt and sugar, then add the flavorings. In this case, that means soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame seeds. 6 pickling cukes, unpeeled and thinly sliced Salt, to taste 1 teaspoon granulated sugar ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper 2 tablespoons soy sauce 1 tablespoon rice vinegar 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil ...

You only need to make one fabulous pickle to get a sense of accomplishment, and a satisfying feeling that you're putting up the harvest for the cool months to come. Many novice canners take an afternoon to pack their vinegary mixtures into canning jars and store them in the fridge. You can also boil the jars in a water bath so that they will be shelf stable. There's nothing quite like opening a kitchen cabinet or going into the pantry and seeing the fruits of your labor lined up, labeled, and looking very tempting.

Grillo's Pickles, the only pickle shop in Greater Boston, is staying put a little longer. What began as a pickle pop-up will remain open through December. Travis Grillo extended his Cambridge lease because, he says, customer response "has been beyond belief. " Grillo's regular and hot pickles are sold in 200 stores on the East Coast. Twenty specialty items are only sold in the store, including pickled grapes, onions, beets, and mustard and Sriracha pickles. The pickled grapes are his biggest seller because they're perfect in martinis.

Grillo's Pickles, the only pickle shop in Greater Boston, is staying put a little longer. What began as a pickle pop-up will remain open through December. Travis Grillo extended his Cambridge lease because, he says, customer response "has been beyond belief. " Grillo's regular and hot pickles are sold in 200 stores on the East Coast. Twenty specialty items are only sold in the store, including pickled grapes, onions, beets, and mustard and Sriracha pickles. The pickled grapes are his biggest seller because they're perfect in martinis.

Q. I have wood wainscot paneling that is now stained. A painter said he wants to whitewash it. What is whitewash and should I do it? JOE MONTALANO, Marblehead A. Whitewash (remember Tom Sawyer's fence?) is an old-fashioned solid white paint that doesn't stand up well to the weather, but in Sawyer's day was the only thing available. Don't do it. What your painter meant was not whitewash, but "pickling," which is painting with thinned down paint, then rubbing some of it off, revealing the grain of the wood.

CAMBRIDGE - It's hard not to be impressed with Travis Grillo and his pickles. Three years ago, he was wearing a pickle suit and hawking homemade pickle spears from a wooden cart in Boston Common. Today, his pickles are sold in about 200 stores on the East Coast, including Whole Foods Markets, Stop & Shop, and specialty stores. Last weekend, Grillo opened his first store in Cambridge. He's 30. "Cambridge you almost sold my store out!!!" Grillo tweeted @GrillosPickles. A two-week supply lasted three days.

Serves 4 Make these a day in advance so the vinegar mixture can flavor the turnips. 1/4  cup water  3  tablespoons red wine vinegar  2  tablespoons sugar  1  tablespoon salt  2  turnips, peeled and thinly sliced  1  jalapeno or other small chili pepper, seeded and thinly sliced  1/2  red onion, thinly sliced  1. In a small saucepan, combine the water, red wine vinegar, sugar, and salt....

There are numerous varieties of jarred peppers on supermarket shelves, besides the familiar roasted red peppers. Here's a quick starter course, though by no means complete. Most are pickled, with a base flavor of vinegary tang. Clockwise from top left: Pickled jalapenos are piquant and spicy; banana pepper rings are mild and crunchy; pepperoncini are acidic and a little spicy; Peppadews are sweet-tart with a hint of heat; cherry peppers (which come both sweet or hot and green or red)

Three Connecticut school cafeteria chefs are appearing on a television cooking competition, part of an effort to raise awareness about children's nutrition. The competition was taped recently for "Chopped" on the Food Network, which is scheduled to air the episode Nov. 22 and replay it later in reruns. The Connecticut chefs are Deborah Houlihan of the Waterford school system; Cheryl Barbara of New Haven's schools; and Rhonda Deloach of New Haven's Common Ground magnet school.

Makes 3 1/2 cups Made in a food processor, this tuna salad contains finely chopped carrots and celery, which add crunch; bread and butter pickles give it a sweet finish. This plain version will appeal to children. For adults only or kids with sophisticated tastes, here are other ideas: Add 2 tablespoons chopped dill, 2 tablespoons capers, 1/4 cup pitted olives, or 2 chopped scallions. 2 carrots, cut into thirds 2 celery stalks, strings removed, stalks cut into thirds 3 cans (6 ounces each)

The Wellesley Farmers Market is set to open for the season on May 3 in the parking area at Whole Foods Market, 442 Washington St. The season will run through Oct. 26, with farmers selling locally grown fruits and vegetables, cheeses, artisan breads, jams, pickles, flowers, plants, and herbs. The market will celebrate the beginning of the season from 2 to 6 p.m. May 10 with performances by musicians from the high school and smoothies from Land's Sake farm.

Serves 6 Some pickles, like this one, are instant. Slice the cukes, let them sit briefly with salt and sugar, then add the flavorings. In this case, that means soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame seeds. 6 pickling cukes, unpeeled and thinly sliced Salt, to taste 1 teaspoon granulated sugar ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper 2 tablespoons soy sauce 1 tablespoon rice vinegar 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil ...