36 OnTREND May/August 2013By Maria Reyes
Ever try having a barbeque without have your summeressentials – pickles, relish and olives! What’s a hamburgerif it’s not topped with a crunchy, tasty pickle? Or a hot dogwithout relish or your vegetable tray without olives? Not onlyare these “condiments” essential, they also health benefitsto summer time and grilling favorites.Pickles – Tasty and Healthy!Pickles are a popular snack, side dish, and condiment.But did you know that pickles can also be a healthypart of your diet? Being made from cucumbers or othervegetables, pickles are high in fiber which is necessaryfor digestive health and fighting cancer. The cucumbersand other vegetables also contain antioxidants, whichfight free-radicals, and depending on the vegetable, canbe a good source of calcium, magnesium, and iron. Therecommendation by most health professionals is to eat fiveservings of vegetables and fruit each day. Eating pickles is agreat way to get a daily serving or two of your five-a-day!It’s what’s in them, tooThe spices with which pickles are made are also healthy. Forexample, dill and garlic, both of which are popular in pickles,both have the ability to regulate bacterial growth. Anddon’t forget about the vinegar. Many pickles are made withvinegars. This healthy elixir has several positive propertiesin addition to its tangy taste. Vinegar is known to boost theimmune system, ease digestive disorders, and can breakdown calcium deposits in a person's joints. In addition,vinegar is known to decrease high blood pressure and helptreat urinary infections. Vinegar is also anti-bacterial andanti-fungal. It inhibits the growth of the E.coli bacteria, andwhen used in conjunction with salt, which is common inpickling, the anti-bacterial properties are amplified.Let’s Relish the Situation…Relish can mean different things to different people and thedefinition varies widely by region and country. In actuality,there are hundreds of types of relish, all of which can beutilized as delicious condiments. Relish types range fromsweet to savory to spicy and can also be smooth or chunkyin consistency. The ingredients depend largely on the regionin which it is produced and the main dish it is intended to bepaired with. Since I’ve moved to Chicago a couple of yearsago, relish has been promoted from a ingredient added intopotato salad to a new status as a “vegetable” to top my hotdogs with. Yes, in this part of the country, you hot dog isn’t aChicago-styled hot dog without the relish!Types of OlivesOlives cannot be eaten right off of the tree;they require special processing to reduce theirintrinsic bitterness. These processing methodsvary with the olive variety, region where theyare cultivated and the desired taste, textureand color. Some olives are picked green andunripe, while others are allowed to fully ripenon the tree to a black color. Yet, not all of theblack olives available begin with a black color.Some processing methods expose unripe greensolives to the air, and the subsequent oxidationturns them a dark color. In addition to theoriginal color of the olive, the color is affected byfermentation and/or curing in oil, water, brine orsalt. Here are some of the more popular varieties:Manzanilla: Spanish green olive, availablepitted and/or stuffed, lightly lye-cured thenpacked in salt and lactic acid brine.Picholine: French- green olive, salt-brine cured,with subtle, lightly salty flavor, sometimes packedwith citric acid as a preservative in the U.S.Kalamata: Greek black olive, harvested fullyripe, deep purple, almond-shaped, brine- cured,rich and fruity flavor.Nicoise: French black olive, harvested fullyripe, small in size, rich, nutty mellow flavor, highpit-to-pit ratio, often packed with herbs andstems.Gaeta: Italian black olive, dry-salt cured, andthen rubbed with oil, wrinkled in appearance,mild flavor, often packed with rosemary andother herbs.I Love these things…Olives that is!The low-fat, heart friendly characteristics of theMediterranean cuisine, in which olives and olive productsplay substantial roles, are making them a more popular itemin the diet of US consumers. Olives are one of the oldestfoods known to man, dating back some 8,000 years in theMediterranean region. The olive tree was valued as a symbolof peace and happiness, while olives were used as foodand a source of oil. Traditionally cured olives, such as thosefound at most olive bars, offer a host of health benefits.For starters, they're rich in iron, vitamin E and copper, andare an excellent source of fiber. There’s so much concernabout reducing fats in the US consumers’ diets. It's trueMay/August 2013 ONTREND 37