It's National Pickle Day!

One of my favorite things about visiting my family in Iowa is that my aunts and cousins would always make homemade pickles. I LOVE PICKLES! I can't get enough of dill, butter, kosher any kind of pickle. The taste, the texture and the crunch are like music to my mouth.

But did you know there is a science to pickling? Yes...lots and lots of science. Pickling isn't just brine and cucumbers. Pickling is scientific!

 From bread and beer to cheese and wine all of these foods are made through a process called fermentation. The fermentation of food has been happening for thousands of years! When cucumbers are soaked in a salt brine, a sugar eating bacteria is allowed to grow and allows for the tart-tasting production of lactic acid. But there is more to pickling than just salt brine and cucumbers.

Check out this great activity from exploratorium.edu and try to create your own perfect batch of pickles!

http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/pickles/picklelab.html