• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

2 pounds bing cherries

3 cups red wine vinegar

1½ cups sugar

2 tablespoons kosher salt

2 strips orange zest, removed with a vegetable peeler

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

2 cinnamon sticks

1 tablespoon coriander seeds

1 bay leaf

Prick each cherry with a fork several times and put them in a nonreactive jar or container.

Mix the vinegar, sugar, salt, orange zest, black peppercorns, cinnamon sticks, coriander seeds, and bay leaf in a nonreactive saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat so the liquid simmers, and cook for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool for 10 minutes.

Pour the liquid over the cherries (they should be completely submerged). When the concoction is completely cool, seal or cover the cherries, and refrigerate for up to 1 month.

PICKLED CHILIES

I love, love, love pickled chilies. Their natural heat is balanced by the sweetness and acid from the brine. Sliced, they are great strewn on grilled steaks or braised meats, and I also like to toss them with some parsley leaves, mint leaves, and olive oil for a little salad to garnish meats. The denser the flesh of the chile, the better luck you will have with the pickle; thin-skinned peppers such as poblanos and habaneros end up as mostly skin. In the summer in Cleveland many varieties of chilies abound, and pickling them allows me to load up for winter so that I can enjoy the sweet burn of summer throughout our often brutal winters.

My favorite chilies for pickling include fresno, jalapeño, Hungarian hot (banana pepper), and tomato pepper.

Makes about 2 quarts

2 pounds chilies

Sherry vinegar

Sugar

Kosher salt

2 bay leaves

2 tablespoons coriander seeds

2 tablespoons black peppercorns

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

4 sprigs of fresh marjoram

3 garlic cloves

Pack the chilies in two 1-quart jars and cover them with water to come within ½ inch of the rim. Pour the water out into a measuring cup. Note the volume, pour off half the water, and replace it with sherry vinegar. Add 2 tablespoons sugar and 2 tablespoons salt for every 3 cups of liquid.

Pour the vinegar mixture into a nonreactive saucepan and add the bay leaves, coriander seeds, black peppercorns, cumin seeds, marjoram, and garlic. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. Pour the hot liquid into the jars to cover the peppers, and screw on the lids. Refrigerate for up to 1 month.

PICKLED RAMPS

I always know it is officially spring when ramps start to pop up in my yard; these are the first things to grow. Ramps, also referred to as wild leeks, are indigenous to Ohio, West Virginia, Michigan, New York, and parts of Appalachia, too. They grow wild in the woods in damp areas in early spring for only about a month. A member of the lily family, they taste like a cross between leeks and garlic. When I get them I usually separate the leaves and the bulbs, saving the leaves to sauté in a little olive oil and use as a side dish for grilled meats and fish, or I chop them up to put in scrambled eggs. The bulbs I pickle so I can enjoy the ramps all year long. Pickled ramps are a great accompaniment to cured meats, are also excellent sliced in a salad, and can be used to top a variety of meats and fish.

Makes about 2 quarts

2 cups white wine vinegar

Kosher salt

2 teaspoons coriander seeds

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

1 bay leaf

1 jalapeño chile, split

2 pounds ramp bulbs (from 3 to 4 pounds ramps)

Combine the vinegar, 2 tablespoons salt, coriander seeds, mustard seeds, bay leaf, and jalapeño in a nonreactive saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook for 3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let the liquid cool to room temperature.

Bring a gallon of heavily salted water to a boil. Blanch the ramps for 2 minutes in the boiling water and then drain in a colander.

Pack the ramps into two 1-quart jars, cover with the cooled pickling liquid to within ½ inch of the rim, and screw on the lids. Refrigerate for up to