Piccalilli

Piccalilli. That smear of jaundiced yellow sauce is referred to several times throughout the Life After Life. In fact the book is rich in food references, not so many that you are groaning with indigestion, but just enough to get your mouth watering.

Pork pies and Piccalilli? Whatever next?

So what is piccalilli? I must confess I've never tried the stuff and I have no intention of doing so. Not even in the name of literary research.

My grandmother's house was full of homemade  jams, jellies and marmalades. Chutneys and pickles. Fruit wines. All so very, quintessentially English. Yet I never saw a single jar of the yellow stuff. Also quintessentially English. Always on the supermarket shelf. Just like the teas and biscuits, crackers and mint sauce it is, for some brands at least,  by appointment to Her Majesty. I've never seen anyone put a jar in their shopping basket. I've never seen one rolling by on the checkout belt. Who eats the stuff? Who's keeping the piccalilli factory going? No one I know.

Well, to sate your tastebuds here's some history and recipes:

Apparently the name was used to describe the English version of indian pickles. It was referred to in 1758 as paco-lilla, later as piccalillo. By the end of the century it had become piccalilli. India has had a huge influence on  British cuisine and diet, the nation's favourite dish is nowadays considered to be not a sunday roast or fish and chips, but chicken tikka masala. In fact practically all the  dishes in the top ten are Indian. 

Here are some recipes for those of you curious enough to try:

There are of course plenty of modern recipes out there for you to try, but I fancied looking at something more in keeping with our era. I can imagine Mrs Glover reading out the list of ingredients to Bridget as she hunts the kitchen cupboards...

I suppose it lends itself quite well to country housekeeping, helping to use up that glut of vegetables from the garden. Maybe that's why Mrs Glover, "she of excellent pickles", makes it.