Pickling

Pickling is a food preservation technique that extends a food's shelf life either through anaerobic lactic-acid fermentation in a salt brine or through direct immersion in vinegar, both of which create an acidic environment that inhibits spoilage organisms while adding a distinctive sour flavor. Vinegar pickling likely originated in ancient Persia and Mesopotamia, while brine-fermented pickling is credited to an independent early development in China; the technique has since become a fixture of cuisines worldwide, from European sauerkraut and cornichons to South Asian achar and Korean kimchi.