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    Back to Good Food

    Good Food

    Hanging up the Christmas pickle

    There are plenty of traditions surrounding the holiday season, but perhaps one of the most obscure is the Christmas pickle. Jane Lear , the executive editor of CURED , traces back the possible provenance of the holiday dill and its curious placement among the rest of our fancy Christmas tree trimmings.

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    By Evan Kleiman • Dec 16, 2016 • 1 min read

    There are plenty of traditions surrounding the holiday season, but perhaps one of the most obscure is the Christmas pickle. Jane Lear, the executive editor of CURED, traces back the possible provenance of the holiday dill and its curious placement among the rest of our fancy Christmas tree trimmings. Learn more about the mystery of the yuletide pickle's origin in Lear's article for the inaugural issue of CURED.

    Music: "The Christmas Song" by James Brown

    The full episode

    3 of 7
    'The Gefilte Manifesto,' Christmas pickles, holiday cookies
    1. 0:00Japanese turnips
    2. 6:07A little nibble for the cookie-obsessed
    3. 15:55Hanging up the Christmas pickleYou’re reading this
    4. 23:04Scandinavian comfort food for the soul
    5. 31:43'The Gefilte Manifesto'
    6. 40:16Cookbook picks and trends for 2016
    7. 48:31Jonathan Gold's Top 10 dishes for 2016
    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Evan Kleiman

      host 'Good Food'

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Laryl Garcia

      Senior Director, Good Food

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Abbie Fentress Swanson

      Independent reporter and producer

    • KCRW placeholder

      Camellia Tse

      Producer, Good Food

      CultureFood & Drink

    The full episode

    3 of 7
    'The Gefilte Manifesto,' Christmas pickles, holiday cookies
    1. 0:00Japanese turnips
    2. 6:07A little nibble for the cookie-obsessed
    3. 15:55Hanging up the Christmas pickleYou’re reading this
    4. 23:04Scandinavian comfort food for the soul
    5. 31:43'The Gefilte Manifesto'
    6. 40:16Cookbook picks and trends for 2016
    7. 48:31Jonathan Gold's Top 10 dishes for 2016
    Back to Good Food