Gastronome

IN A PICKLE

Two pickle producers are redefining preserved produce for a new generation.

BY NANCY DAVIDSON

For some, a pickle is merely sandwich garnishes—but to artisanal pickle makers like Jon Orren of Wheelhouse Pickles (www.wheelhouse.pickles.com) and Todd Champagne of Happy Girl Kitchen Co. (www.happygirlkitchen.com), they are a passion. (Artisanal describes a product created by someone with a high standard of quality in limited quantities using traditional methods—and, in this case, a healthy dose of creativity.)

On the surface, these two pickle makers couldn’t be more different. Todd and his wife, Jordan, live with their two children in rural California and spent years living and working on farms. It was Jordan who first started pickling because she couldn’t stand watching the excess produce around her go to waste.

Across the country, in Brooklyn, NY, you’ll find Orren. A former chef, he first made pickles as a hobby. He sources his raw materials from local farmers who sell their fruits and vegetables at New York’s various Greenmarkets.

In spite of their different lifestyles, the men have quite a bit in common. Both are bringing back an old-fashioned handmade way of preserving fruits and vegetables. Both are enthusiastic about making the bounty of summer and local produce available in winter. And both make crispy, crunchy, juicy and delicious pickled vegetables in both classic and creative flavors.

So what exactly do they have to offer? Happy Girl Kitchen makes classic dills and Kosher-style sours, as well as assortments of beet-colored fresh vegetables, spiked with jalapeños; pickled zucchini and squash sweetened with honey; and pickled peppers.

Wheelhouse Pickles include favorites like bread and butter pickles and sour barrel pickles, along with the more unusual Gin N’ Turnips (soaked in Hendrick’s Gin) and Big Bang Okra. Orren also experiments with new flavors in extra small batches that he calls “Wheelhouse Whims.”

While the end results sound tasty, the job is challenging and profit margins are low. So why do they do it? “It’s the best way to eat out of your garden year round,” says Todd, who wants people to eat local—even in the middle of winter.

But it’s creative and gratifying in another way. “Pickles are whimsical,” Orren says. “They make people smile.”

Chef Anita Lo of New York’s Bar Q (www.barqrestaurant.com; 212-206-7817) has invented a gin cocktail called a Japanese Pickletini that’s dressed up with Japanese pickles instead of olives.

RECIPE

Bread and Butter Pickles
Summer is the best time of the year to make pickled vegetables, because produce such as cucumbers, tomatoes, corn and other vegetables is abundant. Here’s an easy recipe for pickles from Chef Tim Magee of Atlanta’s PARISH: Foods & Goods (www.parishatl.com; 404-681-4434).

1 quart sugar
2 cups cider vinegar
2 cups rice wine vinegar
2 cups water
1 oz. salt
1 oz. mustard seeds
1 oz. celery seeds pinch of coriander seeds pinch of white peppercorns
1 bay leaf
10 cucumbers, sliced to 1/8-inch thick

Combine all ingredients except for cucumbers in a large saucepan. Bring to boil and pour over sliced cucumbers. Allow to cool to room temperature before refrigerating. Leave pickles in the brine until all slices have been eaten. (The longer they marinate, the better they will taste.)