Making Fermented Pickles

LeFevre, EdwinProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.6

Word count: 48K words
Chapters: 5

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Making Fermented Pickles by Edwin LeFevreAuthor: LeFevre, Edwin,Language: English, Class: TX: Technology: Home economics, Release Date: Apr 17, 2015

Editor's review

This is a short, practical guide to home economics from Project Gutenberg, a free public-domain book. Edwin LeFevre sets out the process of fermenting pickled cucumbers as a series of steps you can follow, focusing not on recipe variety but on the principles of fermentation and the key points of hygiene: brine concentration, container cleanliness, temperature and time control, and how to tell whether the finished product has succeeded. Its value lies in breaking the seemingly mysterious process of fermentation into actions a home kitchen can carry out, so that readers can grasp the basic logic of lactic acid fermentation and then apply it to pickling other vegetables. The text is in English and concise, suited to being kept in the kitchen as a reference to dip into rather than read from cover to cover for leisure. It is mostly used before and after actually doing the work: checking proportions before preparing ingredients, checking against it during pickling, and looking back for causes when problems arise. Because it was written long ago, some descriptions of equipment differ from today's kitchen conditions, and readers need to exercise judgment in light of modern food-safety knowledge.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Kitchen beginners who want to try lactic acid fermentation pickles at home and need concrete process guidance
Home cooking enthusiasts who already make simple pickles and want to understand the principles of salinity and temperature
Readers with basic English reading ability who prefer short practical manuals
People interested in traditional food preservation methods who want low-cost practice

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting a modern recipe book with abundant photos and step-by-step illustrations
People who struggle with English reading and want a Chinese operating guide directly
Advanced chefs seeking diverse flavor formulas and innovative pickled dishes

Reading tips

Read through the process once before starting, marking the brine ratio, container disinfection and temperature requirements.
When working, copy the key steps and time points onto a checklist and stick it in the kitchen for easy reference.
For the first attempt, make a small batch and record salinity, room temperature and the taste of the finished product as a basis for next-time adjustments.
If the finished product is soft or has an off odor, go back to the hygiene and sealing points in the text rather than blindly adding salt.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book suitable for someone with no pickling experience at all?

Yes, but it takes a little patience. The book explains the key stages of fermentation pickling clearly in order, and someone with no experience can follow the process step by step. For the first attempt, it is advisable to follow the proportions and times in the book strictly, without changing the salt amount or shortening the fermentation period on your own; aim for one successful batch first, then consider adjusting the flavor.

Can the methods in the book still be used directly today?

The basic approach still holds; the salinity control, container cleanliness and temperature management that fermentation pickling relies on do not become outdated. But the book was written long ago, and some descriptions of equipment and storage conditions differ from today's kitchens. Readers should combine it with modern food-safety knowledge, pay attention to container disinfection and refrigerated storage of the finished product, and make reasonable choices about old practices.

Can someone with poor English read this book?

The book is short and mainly consists of operating steps, with relatively direct sentence structures, so basic English reading ability plus a dictionary is enough to finish it. If English reading is difficult, you can first consult Chinese materials on fermented pickles to understand the general process, then go back to the original text to check key proportions and criteria; the reading burden will be much lighter.

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About the author

LeFevre, Edwin Author · American · 1871–1943

Edwin LeFevre (1871–1943) was an American financial journalist and writer, best known for Reminiscences of a Stock Operator. He spent many years reporting on finance and was skilled at portraying market figures and the world of trading in clear, restrained prose that combined factual reporting with readability. Beyond stock-market subjects, he also wrote about everyday crafts; Making Fermented Pickles, included in this collection, is one example, showing that his interests were not confined to finance. Public information about his life is limited, and details of his education, positions, and specific career are difficult to verify, so this note introduces only his known identity and the character of his work. His writing values facts and detail and is plain in style, exerting a certain influence on later financial writing; readers can also glimpse an aspect of early twentieth-century American financial and everyday writing through his works.