I was making some pickles the other day, because my dad is going to visit my grandfather in Florida, and he really likes my bread & butter pickles, and I ended up with some pickling juice left over. So,since I didn’t want to waste good pickling juice, I looked around the kitchen and said to myself, “Self, what can I pickle?” And having rejected lettuce, the blender, and meat, I settled on an apple. Which I pickled. It’s sitting in the refrigerator now, in a jar, and I have no idea if it is any good or not. I’ve never heard of anyone pickling an apple, but on the other hand, I’ve never heard anyone say that you shouldn’t.
UPDATE: I tried the pickled apples today. I was having a grilled cheese sandwich and we were out of the actual pickles, and as you may know, it is physically impossible to eat a grilled cheese sandwich without sweet pickles. So I ate a couple of slices of the apple and they were… not bad. Not great, but not bad. A little mealy for my taste.
I think I’ll make some more pickles tomorrow.
“He would always go on reading for several hours without a break and without being weary. He did not read as rapidly and impulsively as Ivan Dmitritch had done in the past, but slowly and with concentration, often pausing over a passage which he liked or did not find intelligible. Near the books there always stood a decanter of vodka, and a salted cucumber or a PICKLED APPLE lay beside it, not on a plate, but on the baize table-cloth. Every half-hour he would pour himself out a glass of vodka and drink it without taking his eyes off the book. Then without looking at it he would feel for the cucumber and bite off a bit.” – Anton Chekhov, “Ward 6”
I think Chekhov also wrote, “If in the first act you have put an apple on the table, then in the following one it should be pickled. Otherwise don’t put it there.”
Pickled apples aren’t uncommon in Russia, though not so common as pickled cucumbers. Apples are pickled for the same reason, to preserve them.
By the way, Grandpa really appreciated the bread-and-butter pickles. We had them with our Sunday-night sandwiches.
Enjoyed your 3 scientists comment enough to wander over to your blog. I may just change my personal motto to “Self, what can I pickle?” Or perhaps, with a British accent, “I can pickle self, what?”
It has always been my dream that my actions should serve as an inspiration to others.
Still haven’t tried the pickles yet.