Written by Heather Zubiate
few days ago, I was asked by a reader about my Hoxsey solution to pickle relish. If you are not familiar with the Hoxsey diet for curing cancer, while on the tonic, we are not allowed to have vinegar. That is a problem if you want pickles, because most commercial made pickles are made with vinegar - and salt -- lots of salt! No wonder I LOVE them! For the Hoxsey cure dieter, this is indeed quite a pickle -- ha ha! The solution to this problem is in the brine.
By using a fresh pickling method (a.k.a. refrigerator pickles) any sour citrus, such as lemon, lime, or even sour orange juice can be substituted for the offending vinegar! What about the salt? Because it is a fresh pickle, or a refrigerator pickle, not as much salt (even no salt) is needed as in a traditional vinegar hot processed, or even in a natural fermented pickle. The salt is needed in those methods to preserve the veggies from bad bacteria. In the case of a fresh citrus pickle, refrigeration is what keeps the bacterial nasties at bay. The FDA recommends consuming these fresh pickles within three days of making them, because of the way these pickles are processed, low or no salt, and no heat. This also works in our favor as this is not enough time to produce any trace amounts of carbonation, alcohol, or vinegar that would be produced in a traditional fermentation process, which are also on our list of "no-nos". This is indeed good news for the Hoxsey patient!
Types of Veggies
You can pickle any of the traditional veggies from cukes, cauliflower, carrots, green beans, and onions, to the not so traditional like whole cherry tomatoes. Eh--we on the Hoxsey diet can't have tomatoes, so scratch that off the list, sorry folks. The thing with fresh pickling is that the veggies must --well, be fresh, and have to be cut into smallish pieces or slices so the citrus juice can quickly pickle the veggies and remain fresh until consumption within the three day window allotted by the FDA for food safety.
The Flavorings
If you have ever done any pickling, or you are a pickle connoisseur, then you will know what spices are used in traditional pickles. Mustard and dill seed, red chili flakes, garlic, and peppercorns. But don't let that dictate what you use in your fresh citrus pickle! Any herb, seed, or spice can be used, which opens up the glass ceiling of flavors to new heights! Try different herbs and spices together to get different flavor profiles. French flavors would include fennel or tarragon, rosemary, lavender, marjoram, thyme, and black pepper. Italian flavors would include fennel, sage, oregano, basil, thyme, garlic, hot pepper, etc. Experimentation is the spice of life, so get creative!
Sweet or Savory?
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As for having a sweet pickle, the Hoxsey diet does allow us to use certain sweeteners sparingly. They can be used for those who like a sweet relish on their favorite organic beef or poultry based sausage, hot dog, or burger. I prefer my veggie pickle to be savory -- salty, really. I realize that the Hoxsey diet severely -- severely!! --limits salt, but I still use 1 Tbsp. of salt in my pickle. I believe that salt is an important mineral, and medical evidence suggests that too little salt is just as bad as too much. And each individual requires different amounts. My husband rarely craves salt, while I crave it at certain times of the month -- like everyday. The 1 Tbsp. of salt allows me to keep the fresh pickle longer than 3 days, but no longer than a week just to be safe. The veggies don't absorb all the salt (or else the brine would not remain salty), but I still use the veggie pickle sparingly, it's a condiment after all, and not a meal. Even so, those who are better at limiting their salt intake than I am, the fresh pickle is a great way to get some much needed pucker power into your flavor repertoire without all the sodium of regular pickles and relishes -- or the vinegar.
The Juice. Choose Your Citrus!
 | Lemon and lime juices can easily be used as the fresh pickling liquid to replace vinegar. The pH of lemon and lime juice is 2.4 and vinegar is around 2.8. but any sour or bitter oranges such as Seville oranges aren't as acidic at 3.3 or higher. Your choice will effect the flavor of the finished pickle. As far as lemon is concerned, I have a Meyer lemon |
tree in my garden, it is slightly less acidic than the Eureka lemon that is found in most grocery stores, because it is a hybrid between a lemon and a mandarin orange. However, I have found that a newly ripened Meyer lemon is more tart than a mature fruit. Either way, the juice is still pretty tart thanks to the citric acid, but not as tart as a lime or Eureka lemon. I don't think grapefruit would make a good juice to pickle veggies, as it is quite bitter. But if you want to try it, I suggest a very small test batch.
Fresh Citrus Pickle Recipes
There is a myriad of fresh citrus pickle recipes available at our finder tips thanks to the world wide web if you need help getting started creating a fresh citrus pickle! I will give you my very basic recipe that I use to pickle onions, which I use on my favorite salad and to grace my occasional organic grass-fed beef hot dog. Feel free to add your own herbs and spices! Remember that you can use any vegetable (except potatoes, they don't seem to be a good veggie to pickle) as long as it is fresh, clean, and sliced thinly, or cut into small dice for relish to allow for quick pickling. So this is one more condiment that is back on the menu! Bon Appetit!
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