Food Tradition

Pickling

Food Production and Processing Traditions

The preservation of vegetables, fruit or other food in an acidic medium, typically vinegar brine or the food's own lactic-fermentation acid, halting spoilage while developing a sharp, sour flavor. Vinegar pickling and lactic-fermented pickling are related but distinct methods that arose independently in many regions rather than spreading from one source. Kimjang, the making and sharing of kimchi in the Republic of Korea, was added to UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2015, and pickled vegetables of many kinds appear across Middle Eastern, Indian, Chinese and European tables alike. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts

Partially Attested

Origin Period, To (Year)

to 2030 BCE 2

The source dates the archaeological evidence of cucumber pickling to 2030 BCE and vinegar pickling's origin to around 2400 BCE; 2030 BCE is used as the close of the origin window, which the source does not itself name as an end date.

Origin Period, From (Year)

from 2400 BCE 1

Conventional dating places early Mesopotamian cucumber pickling around 2400 BCE; some accounts place it closer to 2030 BCE.

Origin Region

Mesopotamia 1

Connections