
Until fairly recently, the jars of pickles many of us came into contact with most were the gigantic ones on the counter at the chippy, afloat with whole boiled eggs like specimens in formaldehyde. Or the gherkins in a McDonald’s Quarter Pounder.
But things are changing – Britain is cottoning on to a culinary tradition that deliciously fuels large swathes of Eastern Europe and Asia. So it’s not just fancy delis and farmers’ markets stacked with artisan kimchis and sauerkrauts now, but supermarkets too. Nick Vadasz, aka The Picklesman, the founder of Vadasz Pickles and Ferments, has run the gamut, from starting his street food pickle outfit in a shipping container, to launching his ferments in grocery stores.