Sometimes it’s About the Pickles

In my experience, the best climbing trips are rarely about the climbing.  I’ve made some memorable sends here and there, but my most precious memories are more about the moments shared with others.  Memorable experiences aren’t always about fun, sometimes they include suffering, disappointment, or shock.  We once had a gun pulled on us.  One time, on the first day of a month-long climbing trip, Gaia stepped on a thorn that went directly through her foot.  Once, we drove nearly twenty hours to Joshua Tree, only to have it closed due to a government shutdown.  We were less than an hour away.  I remember High-Clip patching up my bleeding head after a gnarly fall.  I also remember swimming in isolated rivers after hours of climbing that felt like the baths of Aphrodite, cliff jumping while deep water soloing in remote Hawaii, gazing at the clouds through a slot canyon, climbing granite pillars at dusk just in time to share the most beautiful sunset I’ve ever seen with my friends.  Not knowing exactly what’s going to happen is the reason that most climbing trips are an adventure, not knowing what’s going to happen is what makes climbing trips memorable.

It’s rarely about the rocks.  Sometimes it’s about the pickles.

I generally have a laisse faire attitude when it comes to trips.  Take care of the necessities and let the rest fall into place.  That being said, food prep is not often at the top of my agenda when it comes to planning.  Minimalism is more akin to my approach.  Consumption of nuts, oatmeal, and ramen never seems to get tiresome.  That however does not mean I can’t enjoy the finer things along the way.  I recall one trip, while back at camp, a friend pulled out an array of cheeses, fresh fruits, sliced meats, and wine.  It wasn’t just the food, he brought napkins, forks, plates, and cups as well.  As night fell upon us and the stars came out to shine, I recall making the “joke” that I’d take this billion-star restaurant over a 5-Star restaurant any day of the week.  It’s not much of a joke because 1) it’s not funny, 2) it’s a statement of fact, and 3) I’m pretty sure I would not feel comfortable at a 5-Star restaurant, although I don’t know for sure since I’ve never been.

On another trip we bumped into some friends who were spending a day on the rocks.  They carried a full-on picnic basket all the way to the crag.  A seeming waste of energy if ever there was one.  At least that’s what I thought until they invited us to join them for lunch.  And holy crap what a lunch it was.  Again, there was cheese, and meat, and crackers, and wine.  They also had an array of homemade pickled vegetables.  Specifically, pickles, pickled jalapeños, and pickled carrots.

I love pickles, I eat so many pickles.  The number of pickles you might be thinking of when you read ‘so many pickles’, it’s too low.  Add more pickles to whatever you are imaging, then add more pickles to that.  I eat so many pickles! Always add more pickles!

After these pickles were opened at that picnic, climbing became an afterthought.  I needed to know how to do this, what was the process, how much time, effort, and cost goes into making pickles?  Can I have the last pickled Jalapeño?  Why are these so good?

I learned about brine, canning, mason jars, flavors, and water baths.  I also learned that I don’t have the patience nor the equipment to make pickles.  So, my dream of becoming pickler of the crag was short lived.

Well, this year I set a goal of trying to learn how to do something new each month.  I learned to make a lot of food, including homemade bread, cookies, cake, and yogurt.  I also learned that there are shortcuts to making pickles, and so I tried it.

I think the technical name for these pickles are refrigerator pickles.  There is no canning process, you whip up a brine, add some cucumbers, and plop them in the fridge.

I looked at a few recipes and picked the absolute easiest.  Namely one in which didn’t even require bringing the brine to a boil. 

The recipe can be found here at Cookie + Kate.  I went into the process with low expectations and was pleasantly surprised at just how tasty these pickles turned out.  I’m a fan of spicy pickles, and opted for the addition of red pepper flakes, which I would definitely recommend.

I was lucky enough to have had all the ingredients at home (except for fresh cucumbers and fresh dill), so the expense was minimal.  Rice vinegar and maple syrup are the most expensive items on the ingredients list, but if you are on a budget, you can easily swap them for white vinegar and sugar.

So, how did they taste? 

They were delicious.  I made pickle chips and kept trying them at different intervals, after an hour, after 6 hours, after 24 hours, and then I ran out. So, I made a 2^nd batch, and finished them off within 24 hours yet again.  I was surprised by how crunchy the pickles were, (granted it was only a day) they were much crunchier than store bought pickles which was an added bonus.  The flavor of the brine and seasoning (dill, garlic, black pepper, red pepper flakes) took to the cucumbers very noticeably within the first hour and intensified as time went on.   

And now for the really important question…would these pickles offer a lasting memory at the crag?

It should be noted that I can remember a friend sharing an uncut orange pepper at the crag, and it felt like a Michelin meal, so it should be noted that the bar for memorable food experiences on the rocks is pretty low.  But, yes, absolutely these pickles would make for a lasting memory at the crag.  I made them in my kitchen in a leftover take-out soup container and they left an impression.  If someone busted out fresh homemade dill pickles with sprigs of fresh dill still floating around in the jar, I would lose my mind.

I would almost certainly look for a copycat recipe, and after tying that recipe out, I would almost certainly write a 1,500 word piece about those very pickles!