piccalilli

The Oxford English Dictionary traces the word to the middle of the 18th century when, in 1758, Hannah Glasse described how "to make Paco-Lilla, or India Pickle".H. Glasse, Art of Cookery, 6th Ed. 1758, ([https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_xJdAAAAAIAAJ/page/n412 page 377]) An apparently earlier reference is in Anne Blencowe's Receipt Book, written {{c. |1694|lk=on}}, which has "To Pickle Lila, an Indian Pickle" credited to Lord Kilmory.{{cite book |last1=Sharples |first1=Lady Anne |title=The Receipt Book of Lady Ann Blencowe |date=2004 |orig-year=1694 |publisher=Heartsease Books |isbn=978-0-952-23365-7 |page=85}}

The more familiar form of the word appears in 1769, in Elizabeth Raffald's The Experienced English Housekeeper, as "To make Indian pickle, or Piccalillo".Elizabeth Raffald, The Experienced English Housekeeper, 7th ed., Sold by R. Baldwin, 1769, 384 pages ([https://archive.org/details/experiencedengl01raffgoog/page/n352 page 337]) Richard Briggs, in his 1788 The English Art of Cookery, similarly calls it "Picca Lillo".Richard Briggs, The English Art of Cookery, [https://archive.org/details/englishartcooke00briggoog 1st Ed. London: G. G. J. and J. Robinson], 1788, page 590. The spelling "piccalilli" can be seen in an advertisement in a 1799 edition of The Times.The Times 3 Jan 1799. (Advert)

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File:piccalilli-1867.jpg around 1867{{cite book| first= Maxwell Alexander |last= Robertson| title= English reports annotated, Volume 1| publisher= The Reports and Digest Syndicate| year= 1867| page= [https://books.google.com/books?id=GFcyAAAAIAAJ&dq=piccalilli&pg=PA567 567]| via= Google Books}}]]

British{{cite web |title=Piccalilli...Pickling |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/no-series/traded-goods-dictionary/1550-1820/piccalilli-pickling |website=British History Online |publisher=british-history.ac.uk |access-date=12 April 2023}} piccalilli regularly contains the common vegetables cauliflower, onion, shallot, runner bean, carrot, courgette and gherkin, with the seasonings flour, vinegar, ginger, garlic, coriander, mustard powder and turmeric.{{cite web |title=Piccalilli Recipe |url=https://www.kilnerjar.co.uk/recipe/piccalilli |website=Kilner jar co |access-date=12 April 2023}}{{cite news |last1=Knight |first1=Olivia |title=Piccalilli |url=https://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/piccalilli/ |access-date=12 April 2023 |work=delicious. magazine |date=November 2010}}{{cite news |title=Piccalilli |url=https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/uk/food/recipes/a559932/piccalilli-559932/ |access-date=12 April 2023 |work=Good Housekeeping |date=8 April 2016}}{{cite news |last1=Couchman |first1=Paul |title=How to make Piccalilli – Regency Style! |url=https://www.paulcouchman.co.uk/how-to-make-piccalilli-regency-style/ |access-date=12 April 2023 |work=The Regency Cook |date=October 1, 2021 |location=Hove, England}}{{cite news |last1=Fearnley-Whittingstall |first1=Hugh |title=Eat it with relish |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2008/oct/25/chutney-pickle-recipes |access-date=12 April 2023 |work=The Guardian |date=24 October 2008}}

Available from major British supermarkets, more finely chopped, is "sandwich piccalilli". It is used as an accompaniment to foods such as sausages, bacon, eggs, toast, cheese, and tomatoes. It is eaten as a relish with cold meats such as ham and brawn, and with a ploughman's lunch.

It is usually made in the autumn, when pickling onions become available. As well as being a commercial product, piccalilli is a mainstay of Women's Institute and farmhouse product stalls.

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An unsweetened variation of British piccalilli is found in Cyprus (including northern Cyprus). It is without baby onions, with a milder mustard sauce, and with the addition of carrot pieces. Piccalilli is known in Cyprus as πίκλα (pikla) in Cypriot Greek, and bikla in Cypriot Turkish. It is served as a condiment, and occasionally as a meze dish.

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In the Northeastern United States, commercial piccalillis are made with a base of sweet peppers or green tomatoes. This style is somewhat similar to sweet pepper relish, with the piccalilli being distinguished by having a darker red or green color and, like British piccalilli, the chunks are larger and it is slightly sweeter.{{cite web|url=http://www.lovefood.com/guide/recipes/20469/make-it-dont-buy-it-piccalilli|title=Make it don't buy it: piccalilli|website=www.lovefood.com}}[http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/food/articles/2011/08/31/piccalilli/ Piccalilli – The Boston Globe]. Boston.com (2011-08-31). Retrieved on 2013-09-20. It is commonly used as a topping on such foods as hamburgers and hot dogs. British-style, yellow, piccalilli is also available.

In the Midwestern United States, commercial piccalillis are based on finely chopped gherkins. Bright green and on the sweet side, they are often used as a condiment for Chicago-style hot dogs. This style is sometimes called "neon relish".{{cite web | last = Zeldes | first = Leah A. | author-link = Leah A. Zeldes | title = Origins of neon relish and other Chicago hot dog conundrums | work = Dining Chicago | publisher = Chicago's Restaurant & Entertainment Guide, Inc. | date = 2010-07-20 | url = http://www.diningchicago.com/blog/2010/07/20/chicago-hot-dog-yellow-mustard-neon-green-relish/ | access-date = 2010-07-31 | archive-date = 2011-07-10 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110710130712/http://www.diningchicago.com/blog/2010/07/20/chicago-hot-dog-yellow-mustard-neon-green-relish/ | url-status = dead }}

In the Southern United States, piccalilli is not commonly served.[http://www.recipetips.com/glossary-term/t--38072/piccalilli.asp Piccalilli – Definition and Cooking Information]. RecipeTips.com. Retrieved on 2013-09-20. In its place, chow-chow, a relish with a base of chopped green (unripe) tomatoes, is offered. This relish may also include onions, bell peppers, cabbage, green beans, and other vegetables. While not similar to other piccalillis, chow-chow is often called as such and the terms may be used interchangeably.{{cite web | last = Zeldes | first = Leah A. | author-link = Leah A. Zeldes | title = Eat this! Chow chow and piccalilli pickle the Southern harvest | work = Dining Chicago | publisher = Chicago's Restaurant & Entertainment Guide, Inc. | date = 2010-08-18 | url = http://www.diningchicago.com/blog/2010/08/18/eat-this-southern-pickles-and-relishes/ | access-date = 2010-09-10 | archive-date = 2010-12-29 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101229044257/http://www.diningchicago.com/blog/2010/08/18/eat-this-southern-pickles-and-relishes/ | url-status = dead }}[http://www.practicallyedible.com/edible.nsf/pages/american_piccalilli Piccalilli (American)] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120525142628/http://www.practicallyedible.com/edible.nsf/pages/american_piccalilli |date=2012-05-25 }}. Practicallyedible.com. Retrieved on 2013-09-20.

In the Western United States, piccalilli is uncommon.

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A far spicier variant of piccalilli comes from the former Dutch colony of Suriname, where traditional British piccalilli is mixed with a sambal made of garlic and yellow Madame Jeanette peppers. This piccalilli is often homemade but can also be bought in jars in Dutch corner shops. Whilst Surinamese piccalilli is similar in appearance to ordinary piccalilli, the taste is much spicier.

As a term for a mixed collection, piccalilli lends its name to several books of poems, for example, Piccalilli: A Mixture, by Gilbert Percy (1862),Gilbert Percy, Piccalilli: a mixture, Publisher: S. Low Son and Co., 1862. (at [https://archive.org/details/piccalilliamixt01thomgoog/page/n9 Internet Archive]) and Dilly Dilly Piccalilli: Poems for the Very Young (1989), by Myra Cohn Livingston.Myra Cohn Livingston, Dilly dilly piccalilli: poems for the very young, Illustrated by Eileen Christelow, Publisher: M.K. McElderry Books, 1989, {{ISBN|0-689-50466-7}}, {{ISBN|978-0-689-50466-2}},

68 pages. Mr Piccalilli is the name of a character in the children's book Mr Pod and Mr Piccalilli (2005), by Penny Dolan.Penny Dolan, Mr Pod and Mr Piccalilli, Illustrated by Nick Sharratt, Publisher Walker Books, 2005, {{ISBN|0-7445-4066-6}}, {{ISBN|978-0-7445-4066-6}},

32 pages.

The song "Lily the Pink", recorded in 1968 by UK comedy group The Scaffold, includes a humorous reference to piccalilli when describing Lily's eventual demise, in the lyric "...and despite her medicinal compound, sadly Picca-Lily died".{{Cite web|title=The Scaffold - Lily The Pink Lyrics|url=https://www.lyricsmania.com/lily_the_pink_lyrics_scaffold_the.html|access-date=2020-10-13|website=www.lyricsmania.com|language=en}} The song was based on an earlier folk song "the Ballad of Lydia Pinkham", which celebrated a herbal remedy invented by the eponymous heroine, marketed from 1876 as "Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Compound". The connection between piccalilli and the vegetable compound is in name only, as the recipes differ completely.

{{portal|Food}}

• {{annotated link|pickling}}
• {{annotated link|acar}}
• {{annotated link|South Asian pickles|Achaar}}

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{{wiktionary}}

• [http://www.recipesource.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi?search_string=piccalilli&filter=off&dir=.%2Fside-dishes%2Frelishes Piccalilli recipes from RecipeSource]
• [https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/piccalilli British piccalilli recipe from the BBC]
• [http://www.diningchicago.com/blog/2010/08/18/eat-this-southern-pickles-and-relishes/#piccalilli U.S. Southern-style chow-chow] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101229044257/http://www.diningchicago.com/blog/2010/08/18/eat-this-southern-pickles-and-relishes/#piccalilli |date=2010-12-29 }}

{{Condiments}}

{{English cuisine}}

Category:Pickles

Category:British condiments

Category:American condiments

Category:Cypriot cuisine

Category:Surinamese cuisine

Category:Brassica oleracea dishes

Category:Vegetable dishes