Piccalillo

It's that time of year when my mind turns to pickling.

I'll pickle anything. Onions, cauliflowers, courgettes, green beans, tomatoes, gas bills, gym socks, you name it.

Ready for pickling.

Photo ©Anne-Marie Minhall

One of the first references to Piccalilli was noted in 1769 by one Elizabeth Raffald. This was a Yorkshire lass who became a housekeeper after fifteen years of domestic service at Arley Hall in Cheshire. She married the estate's head gardener, John, before they moved to Manchester. There she opened a cookery school & sold food from it. Elizabeth would go on to publish a cookbook called The Experienced English Housekeeper.

Here she is:

I wouldn’t cross her in the kitchen, would you?

Within the pages, the first recipe for a Bride Cake, our modern day wedding treat. Also contained in the book were instructions as to how to make Piccalillo, an Indian Pickle or, as we know it today, Piccalilli.

Here's how my morning has been spent reviving this recipe from last Christmas.

https://minhallandjones.com/blog/2020/9/10/piccalilli-circus

This year I wore rubber gloves as I decanted the veg & toms plus vinegar mix into the jars. Turmeric can make one's hands look like you've been a heavy smoker all your life.

Elizabeth would not approve of yellow fingers & nails.

AMM