Dirty Pickles

Yet another gloomy day. My head was in the clouds only because the clouds were on the ground - misty, gray temperate day. If the sun doesn't shine soon ...

My husband says my pickles taste too clean. How does food taste "clean?" Today I gained a better understanding of his cultural reference. Obachan called me over to do a small chore and in return, offered me some pickles out of one of the many mysterious vats sitting around the laundry area. She places the vegetables in plastic liners with the salt and seasonings, then weights them down with heavy stones, allowing the leached liquid from the vegetables to seep out into the vat. At her house, this liquid gets contaminated with only-god-knows-what, including hair, lint, dead roaches and mold. She sops the mess out with the dirtiest rag I have seen, a well-used zokin that was black from soil and soot. We opened the plastic liner to remove a few roots.

The first vat we explored had daikon - unwashed daikon- pickling in the brew. They were dark with soil and wrinkled from pickling. She casually told me to peel off the unwashed skin and slice it up. I am blessed to not be able to smell these things but the dog ran the other way so I have an inkling it was not good. You don't have to tell me twice to peel the unwashed surface. She said something about nutrition but I was just thinking about heavy metals, soil toxins, manure. I will serve some to my husband, if he survives, then I will give it a try.

The second vat contained pickled Napa cabbage that has been in too warm of a place. Our weather has not been kind to our pickling efforts and rather than producing crisp fresh-looking products, we have limp yellowed leaves that are preserved only because of the vast quantities of sea salt that were tossed in with them. She wrapped the spoils (literally) in a used plastic bag - used for what I cannot say and do not wish to know.

I lost my appetite for a rice and pickle lunch and ate a peanut butter sandwich instead. We'll have the dirty pickles for dinner.