Chic chow-chow piccalilli
Instead of serving bread before the meal, Crow Hill serves its
house pickle, a rustic blend of vegetables saturated in an apple
cider vinegar brew that includes the classic pickling spices such
as coriander, mustard seed and cloves.
Executive chef Chris Troncoso explains the delicate process of
wrapping the herbs in cheesecloth, forming a small sachet that allows
the spices to be boiled into the vinegar. Into the broth, he combines
locally-grown cucumbers, fresh red bell peppers, onions and carrots.
Presented in a snap tight lid canister for an authentic rustic look, the
pickled salad is crunchy and fresh, enjoyed with relish. —Amanda Raxlin
88
WBM june 2012
She picked a
pack of pickled
peppers
Fresh cut vegetables,
boiling pots on the
stove and the aroma
of garlic and spices — the pickling
process for Angela Cannon,
owner of Angela’s Pepper-
Pickled Foods, is just as simple
as the old-fashioned at-home
process.
“Pickling used to be what you
had to do to survive,” Cannon
says. “Now people are getting
back into pickling and homegrown
foods with the, ‘Where
does your food come from?’
movement.”
When the crops are ready
each vegetable is bought from a
North Carolina farmer. They are
cut to size and prepped for pickling.
The Mason jars are scalded
and sterilized for placement of
the raw ingredients — garlic,
and sometimes sweet onions.
While stuffing the jars, the
hot vinegar recipe is cooking on
the stove. It is then poured into
the jars. Angela frees the excess
bubbles, topping off the jar with
more vegetables and the correct
spices for the recipe.
“The placement of the vegetables
in the jars is very important,”
she says. Each finished jar
must look exactly as appealing
as the next.
The final step is to put a
warmed lid on the jars and boil
them in a large pot of water. This
method sets the seal and readies
them for sale.
But you don’t have to wait
for others’ pickled foods to feel
good about what you’re eating.
“If you have a garden, you can
pickle,” she says. —Amanda Wager
savor — guide to food & dining on the azalea coast
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