The basics...it's as easy as 1...2...pickle!

I grew up in the small town of Chico, CA but our refrigerator was unlike anyone else's in town. My mom, originally from Israel, kept the shelves full of homemade treats neatly packed in jars. There were the garlicky treats like pickled turnips, the sour treats like home made sauerkraut, the spicy treats like the Yemenite spread, Zchug, and the sweet treats like crab apple jelly from the crab apples that grew in our front yard. Preparing a meal was easy when there were so many already prepared yummy things ready to be added to any recipe.

Now that I am a mom, I really am in awe of the time that my mom put into making us healthy and tasty treats from scratch and bringing the flavors of Israel and the Middle East to our home in Northern California. I want my daughter to grow up remembering the sight of jars boiling on the stove and helping me to taste the pickle brine to check if it's too salty, too dill-y or just right.

Over the years, I have pickled and preserved foods here and there, but not as regularly as I would like. I'm determined to show other parents out there how truly easy it is to make a fabulous preserved treat that will impress guests, make great gifts, and keep your family happy.

So, for those skeptical people out there who think preserving is WAY too hard...it's not! It's actually really easy. The only thing that's tough is waiting a week, 2 weeks, sometimes 30 days for a dish to be ready to eat. However, the actual upfront work is not bad and you have food that will last sometimes up to 2 years or more. So pick a Sunday afternoon, put in a few hours, and reap the rewards for months to come.

All you need to get started is:

1. Some jars. You can pick up good jars that seal tight at most hardware stores, Target, or online, You can use the twist-off kind (like spaghetti sauce jars) or the kind that have a metal latch.

2. A cool place to store your finished product. Most pickles (if done in a sterilized way) don't need to be refrigerated. Just find a cool place (under the stairs, in the basement, or anywhere in an air-conditioned home) and leave them be.

3. Pectin. This is a great item to have if you are making a lot of jams and jellies. It's not necessary but it helps if you want your jam to have a more gel-like consistency.  It's sold in most stores.

4. A great collection of whole and fresh spices. Go crazy! Some of my favorite spices for pickling and preserving are: star anise, peppercorn, fresh or dried chili peppers, fresh garlic, clove, juniper seeds, mustard seeds, cinnamon sticks, cardamom seeds, bay leaves, fresh dill and fresh ginger. No powders for preserving!

5. A constant supply of fresh lemons, sugar, sea salt, Kosher salt and a fabulous olive oil.

Happy preserving!