Jars, Brine or Kimchi? How to Pick the Best Pickling Book

A pickle looks like the simplest thing in the kitchen. It is a vegetable, salt, a sour liquid and some patience. Any Mexican cook who has put up jalapeños and carrots in escabeche knows how much difference the balance makes, and how quickly a good jar disappears.

This guide gives seven books from named authors and established publishers, one for each kind of pickler. Some are older than the current canning guidance, so we also show you how to check any recipe you plan to store on a shelf.

Julia’s earns a commission on purchases made through links on this page, at no cost to you. Recommendations are based on what a restaurant kitchen looks for in a cookbook, the Amazon listing, publisher and author information and published reviews, which we name where we use them.

Quick verdict: the best pickling book to start with

The other four cover cooking with pickles, Japanese home pickling, an illustrated gift book and kimchi.

Five pickles cookbooks side by side

Five of the seven, one for each kind of cook. All seven are described in full below.

Cover images from Amazon. Page counts and formats are from the Amazon listings for the editions linked. Recipe counts are from the publisher’s copy or the title.

Our picks for the best pickling book, one by one

All seven were in stock, in print and new, and sold by Amazon when we checked. We have not cooked from these books; where we describe a strength, we say whose view it is.

How to choose a pickles cookbook

Five questions will narrow this list quickly.

• Will you store them on a shelf? Then the recipe needs a tested process. The National Center for Home Food Preservation says that processing pickles in a boiling-water canner prevents spoilage problems, and it says to “use only recipes with tested proportions of ingredients.”
• Is the book older than the guidance? The USDA guide to home canning has a 2015 revision, and some of these books came first. Older books may be out of date, so treat their canning times as something to check, not to trust.
• Do you want vinegar or fermented pickles? Most of these books cover both. Fermented jars behave very differently, so read our fermentation book guide if that is your main interest.
• Will you change the recipe? NCHFP says plainly, “Do not alter vinegar, food, or water proportions in a recipe or use a vinegar with unknown acidity.” It recommends white distilled and cider vinegars of 5 percent acidity. Change the spices if you like, and leave the ratio alone.
• Do you have the gear? Refrigerator and quick pickles need little. For canned jars, our canning funnel guide covers one tool that makes filling much neater.

How we chose these pickling books

We searched Amazon’s book listings first and kept print editions from named authors at established publishers, plain in stock with a new lead offer. We left out titles on our best fermentation book page, such as Fermented Vegetables and The Japanese Art of Pickling and Fermenting. Author, year, format and page count come from the Amazon listing. Recipe counts and descriptions come from the publisher’s copy, in some cases as carried by booksellers, unless we credit someone else.

Here is what stands behind each pick. None has a Publishers Weekly review that we could find at its ISBN, which does not mean no review exists anywhere. Asian Pickles, Pickles, Illustrated and The Kimchi Cookbook have praise we read only as quoted by the publisher, and Japanese Pickled Vegetables has awards listed by its publisher. The rest stand on the publisher’s and author’s details.

Stock ruled out some of the best-known names. The Joy of Pickling by Linda Ziedrich was low in stock, and Kevin West’s Saving the Season was not plainly in stock when we checked. We stopped at seven, because that was the honest count.

Pickling book questions, answered

What is the best pickling book for beginners?

The Pickled Pantry for range, which its publisher pitches at first-time picklers as well as experienced canners. Pickles and Preserves and Pickles, Illustrated are shorter options.

Which book covers quick pickles?

Pickles, Illustrated names quick and refrigerator pickles among its four methods, and Asian Pickles includes quick recipes for beginners.

Are old pickling books safe to follow?

Use them with care. NCHFP warns that many recipes in older cookbooks do not include processing instructions, and its pickling page says there must be a minimum, uniform level of acid to prevent the growth of botulinum bacteria. Check shelf-stable recipes against NCHFP’s current directions.

Can I use any vinegar for pickling?

NCHFP recommends white distilled and cider vinegars of 5 percent acidity and warns against vinegar of unknown acidity. Many specialty vinegars do not state it, so read the label.

Is kimchi a pickle?

It is a salted, fermented vegetable, and books on pickling often include it, as Asian Pickles does. The Kimchi Cookbook treats it as a whole subject.

Which pickling book should you buy first?

Buy The Pickled Pantry if you want one broad book. Choose Asian Pickles or Japanese Pickled Vegetables for a tradition you love, Grillo’s Presents Pickled to cook with pickles and The Kimchi Cookbook for one great subject. If live cultures interest you more than vinegar, go to our best fermentation book guide, and try our chamoy pickle guide for a snack with a Mexican accent.

And if you would rather let someone else cook tonight, see the menu or call to order.