The Complete Book of Pickles and Relishes

by Leonard Louis Levinson

Leonard Levinson tells the story of pickling as a preservation method, and then takes a countrywide tour with various items being pickled, preserved and buttered from the humble cucumber to Bing cherries; he adds mincemeat, chutney, ketchup and even eggs. He gives method, preparation and storage with many useful hints and gift ideas. He provides the method for pickling in the refrigerator then takes off on a trip around the world – one recipe from India for Pickled Grapes was very tasty. This is more than just making pickles; it is an encyclopedia for making use of the garden, farm and market.

Genres: Cookbooks, Food and Drink

335 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1965

Reviews

[Athena · Rating 5 out of 5]

In conjunction with The Ball Blue Book, this is THE original reference book for pickles & relishes of all kinds, not just cucumbers; it's especially useful for little-known-today but absolutely terrific spiced fruit & fruit pickle recipes.

Levinson's recipe-dense book overflows with recipes for all kinds of cucumber pickles (including older quick process types), vinegars, mustard pickles, relishes, pickled vegetables, eggs, meats & fish, catsups, bottled sauces, chutneys, mincemeats, and fruit butters. The beginning chapters, especially the 'Ingredients' chapter, are particularly useful for beginning cooks & anyone who wants to broaden their cooking knowledge (granted, a description of 'curry' may strike the modern US cook as quaint!).

There are a number of ingredients in common use now that weren't readily available in the US in 1965, when this was published, so now it's optimally used with another good, modernized canning book to get a feel for the changes and/or substitutions you can make using items available today (for example, using modern high-acid wine vinegars in lieu of traditional white or apple cider vinegar). It was still common in the 60's to make full batches (6-8 pints or quarts) of pickles so Levinson's recipes are written that way as opposed to the more common small batch (½ pint to 1 quart) recipes of modern pickling cookbooks.

Whatever kind of pickled thing you enjoy, if life offers you the chance to pick up a copy of this classic cookbook, go for it!

[S Vanorse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Library book sale find, what a treasure. Although printed in 1965 found it very informative. I can't imagine trying to locate some of the spices where I live back in '65, but thanks to two local co-ops small amounts are easily obtained, today. I do a fair amount of canning and enjoyed this more than most of the modern canning books in my personal library, a lot of pickle eating and research went into this book.