No vinegar was harmed in the making of Fire Food & Drink’s pickles. Instead, a team headed by chef Doug Katz and his father bottled 720 jars last year using banana peppers, serrano chili, garlic, salt, pickling spices, distilled water and fresh dill to infuse their pickling cukes with the zowie-wowie intense, garlicky flavor they’ve become known for. “We’re really focused on the ingredients of what we do,” Katz says. “We try to make as much as we can in-house.” Pickling is an all-day, labor-intensive process, so Katz is cautiously encouraging to the first-timer. Follow a recipe and monitor your acid levels, he says. “You really have to know what you’re doing. You can end up creating a science experiment in the jar.” Before heading to the farmers market, Google “safe pickling,” do your research and heed Katz’s tips:
Sanitize your jars properly. “We always wash ours in really hot, hot water. The traditional way is to boil your jars.”
Follow the Boy Scout motto. It’s important to have the pickles washed, the peppers cut and cleaned and everything in front of you. “Like making anything in a kitchen, you want to be prepared before you actually start.”
Use distilled water. “You don’t want the chlorine. That way you’re getting the flavor of the other ingredients.”
This may seem obvious, but size up your jar. Because what are you going to do with all those cucumbers you bought for pickling when they don’t fit in the jar? Now that’s just embarrassing. 13220 Shaker Square, Cleveland, 216-921-3473, firefoodanddrink.com
