Become a pickle master
Get yourself in a pickle with one of the country's experts.
Mike Hilburger first got the taste for pickles when he was a teething baby – and he’s never looked back. He’s in town to share his skills at a workshop and teach pickle-lovers how to get the best out of their local produce.
“You look around and pretty much every culture on earth pickles some-thing,” he says.
“Koreans pickle cabbage for kimchi, which is like an Asian version of sau-erkraut. It was born out of a need to preserve seasonal crops, but it ended up tasting awesome, too.”
But the ancient technique wasn’t just delicious and practical; there are loads health benefits to boot.
“They’ve got all those amazing pro-biotic qualities that are really good for you and gut health seems to be really topical these days,” Hilburger says.
“Our ancestors certainly knew what they were on about all those years ago.”
Top Enders will learn two different types of pickling – the vinegar based technique and a traditional fermented sauerkraut.
The Territory climate poses a bit of a challenge, but also means fermenta-tion takes less time.
“The main thing is temperature – the cooler you can keep it, the better,” Hilburger explains.
“The vinegar based pickles finish off in the fridge, so they’re fine, but the fermented one does spend some time outside in the coolest and darkest corner you can find.
“We’ll get our students to check on it every couple of days. I know from experience in the 30 plus degree temperatures it can be ready in a week’s time, whereas in Europe it can take months.
“We’re pretty lucky in that sense, as it’s super speedy, but it can run away from you quickly, too.”
Hilburger is excited to hit the Top End to run not only the pickle workshop, but also to get your mouth watering over a smoky charcoal BBQ – tickets to Become a BBQ Legend have already sold out.
SAT 21 APR | 1-5PM | ACCOMPLICE | $150 | creativeaccomplice.com.au
