Chefs Get Creative with these Pickling Dishes

Aragosta, Stonington, Maine

Chef/owner: Devin Finigan

“I love to pickle anything! Some of my favorites have been fruit like summer peaches, strawberries and blueberries,” Finigan says. “We will pickle them and use them throughout our dishes and bar drinks.”

Rhubarb, Asheville, North Carolina

Chef/Owner: John Fleer

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Chef & the Farmer, Kinston, North Carolina

Chef: Vivian Howard

Both Fleer and Howard mentioned making collards into kraut as one of their favorite preservation adventures. “Chef & the Farmer is all about supporting our local economy by using local farmers, but we’re also about exalting the food traditions of this very small place, Eastern North Carolina,” Howard says of what inspired her to make the kraut.

Blue Hill, New York City

Chef: Dan Barber

“Our chef de cuisine, Nick [Hukezalie], decided to toast the squash and then ferment them in a salt brine. The result was really exceptional—the fermenting process jacked up the squash flavor but also added this acidity and complexity you can’t get from eating them fresh,” Barber says.

Agricola, Princeton, New Jersey

Chef: Mitresh Saraiya

“Years ago we made kimchi from kohlrabi before I had even heard of it,” says Jim Nawn, owner. “It was wildly popular.”

Woodberry Kitchen, Baltimore, Maryland

Chef: Spike Gjerde

Made from Chesapeake fish peppers that are ground, aged in oak barrels, and brewed, Woodberry Kitchen’s Snake Oil hot sauce is a favorite.