Web Page No 2634

16^th November 2019

Eggs, Walnuts and Onions.

1st Picture. Pickled Eggs

 2nd Picture. Pickled Walnuts

3rd Picture. Decorated Pickled Eggs

4^th Picture. Landlord with Pickled Onions

I have never been a fan of pickled produce even though, just after the war and into my teenage years they seemed to be in every home and on every public house bar.

Pickled eggs are cured in vinegar or brine was and is a particular hate of mine. As with many foods, this was originally a way to preserve the food so that it could be eaten months later. Pickled eggs have become a favourite among many as a snack in pubs, bars and taverns, chip shops and around the world in places where beer is served.

After the eggs are hard boiled and shelled, they are submerged in a solution of vinegar, salt, spices, and other seasonings. Recipes vary from the traditional brine solution for pickles, to other solutions, which can impart a sweet or spicy taste. The final taste is largely determined by the pickling solution. The eggs are left in this solution from one day to several months. Prolonged exposure to the pickling solution may result in a rubbery texture. A common practice is to puncture the egg with a toothpick to allow the pickling solution to penetrate to the egg's interior, but this is dangerous as it can introduce clostridium into the finished product. Eggs prepared with this method have sometimes had high enough levels of botulinum toxin to cause illness.

A variant is the pickled beet egg where whole beets, onions, vinegar, sugar, salt, cloves, and (optionally) a cinnamon stick are used as the brine. The eggs take on a pink or even purple colour from the beets and have a sweet and sour taste.

In 1759 pickled eggs were mentioned in "An Universal History, from the Earliest Account of Time"

No wonder I did not like them!

For me even worse than picked eggs are pickled walnuts even though they have been a delicacy in England since at least the early 18th-century. They were mentioned in several literary works.

The botanist Richard Bradley describes pickled walnuts in his 1728 book The Country Housewife and Lady's Director, stating ‘the beginning of this month (he does not say which) is the time to pickle Walnuts, for then the Walnuts have not begun to shell, and are not so bitter nor hollow as they will be afterwards; they will now be full fleshed, and you will have no loss. The following Method I learnt from Mr. Foord, a curious Gentleman of Buckingham, and has been experienced to be the best way. There is one thing indeed which must be regarded in this Pickle, which is, that everyone does not love the Taste of Onion or Garlick; but that may be omitted as we please, only supplying the place with Ginger.

Charles Dickens in his book The Pickwick Papers, published in 1836. In chapter 49 he writes, ‘ However, there he lay, and I have heard my uncle say, many a time, that the man said who picked him up that he was smiling as merrily as if he had tumbled out for a treat, and that after they had bled him, the first faint glimmerings of returning animation, were his jumping up in bed, bursting out into a loud laugh, kissing the young woman who held the basin, and demanding a mutton chop and a pickled walnut. He was very fond of pickled walnuts, gentlemen. He said he always found that, taken without vinegar, they relished the beer.’

Pickled walnuts are also mentioned in Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh.

Pickled walnuts are still commonly eaten in England, particularly at Christmas served with an English blue cheese such as Stilton. I STILL DO NOT LIKE THEM!

Finally, my pet hate Pickled Onions even though they have an international reputation.

Pickled onions consist of small onions pickled in a solution of vinegar and salt, often with other preservatives and flavourings. There is a variety of small white pickled onions known as 'silverskin' onions. They are frequently used as an essential component of the Martini cocktail variant known as a Gibson. Pickled onions are usually pickled in malt vinegar and the onions are about an inch in diameter. Silverskin onions are pickled in white vinegar, and are much smaller. Full sized onions, e.g. Spanish Onions, can be pickled if sliced first.

In the Southern United States, pickled Vidalia onions can be served as a side dish. In Hong Kong, pickled onions are served in many   Cantonese restaurants, especially around dinner time, as a small dish before the main course is served. In Switzerland, they are served to accompany raclette, along with pickled gherkins. In Italy, it is known as 'maggiolina'. In Mexican cuisine, one preparation, cebollas encurtidas, has sliced red onions pickled in a mixture of citrus juices and vinegar, which is served as a garnish or condiment. Sometimes cooked beets are added, producing a more strongly pink coloured dish. Pickled red onions in bitter orange juice are especially emblematic of Yucatan cuisine, where they are used as a garnish or condiment, especially for seafood.

AND I STILL DO NOT LIKE THEM

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News and Views:

On this day 16th November 1960-1965

On 16/11/1960 the number one single was Tell Laura I Love Her - Ricky Valance and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was No Hiding Place (AR) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was US places embargo on goods to Cuba.

On 16/11/1961 the number one single was Walkin' Back to Happiness - Helen Shapiro and the number one album was The Shadows - Shadows. The top rated TV show was Sunday Night at the London Palladium (ATV) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 16/11/1962 the number one single was Telstar - The Tornadoes and the number one album was Best of Ball Barber & Bilk. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Lawrence of Arabia. A pound of today's money was worth £12.89 and Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 16/11/1963 the number one single was Do You Love Me? - Brian Poole & the Tremoloes and the number one album was Please Please Me - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Great Escape. A pound of today's money was worth £12.64 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 16/11/1964 the number one single was Oh Pretty Woman - Roy Orbison and the number one album was A Hard Day's Night - Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 16/11/1965 the number one single was Tears - Ken Dodd and the number one album was The Sound of Music Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Sound of Music. A pound of today's money was worth £11.69 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.