Add a kick to your meals by trying these products that use fermentation or vinegar.
Freshly made pickles
Evergreen & Market in Sandy Springs offers a changing assortment of freshly made pickles, with at least 17 flavors available right now. There are lots of cucumber options, and pickled red onions, okra and jalapenos, as well. The company is run by Salwa Kisswani and her husband, Randy Michael, who enjoy creating new pickles, sometimes based on suggestions from customers. We tried three, and were all set to declare the heat and sweet pickles our favorite until we tried the power sours, a very crisp pickle with sprigs of fresh dill. All the pickles are tart, but they don’t hit you over the head with their sourness. There are subscription boxes available, and, for those who truly love pickles, they will set up and staff a pickle bar reception, with enough pickles to serve anywhere from 50 to 1,000 people. Order three or eight jars and they’ll come in pretty gift boxes, printed with pickle puns like “Dill with it” and “I’m a big dill.”
$9 per 16-ounce jar or $15 for two jars. Available weekly at the Peachtree Road, Marietta, Green Market at Piedmont Park, Brookhaven, Sandy Springs and Alpharetta farmers markets, and on a rotating basis at the Morningside Farmers Market, as well as at evergreenandmarket.com. Free delivery within 25 miles of Sandy Springs; no minimum purchase required.
Credit: Charlie Byers
Credit: Charlie Byers
Nonalcoholic, Italian-style aperitivo
We are fans of Figment Kombucha in Athens, and always enjoy trying what the company has dreamed up. Most recently, Figment has been making nonalcoholic, kombucha-based aperitivos — pre-dinner drinks that generally combine bitter and sweet, to help awaken your appetite. We ordered a bottle of Napoli. The beautiful pink color comes from the hibiscus in the ingredients, and, while orange peel provides citrus notes, it also adds a little bitterness, alongside the gentian root. It will put you in mind of Campari, and the cute Italian scooter on the label reminds you that this is a lighthearted beverage, perfect for spring and summer. Figment also bottles Saigon, with herbal flavors from Thai basil, mint, star anise and lemon grass. We can’t wait to try that next.
$30 for a 750-milliliter bottle. Available at Elemental Spirits and figmentkombucha.com.
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Hot sauces
Hot sauces abound these days, but chef Sam Davis-Allonce has come up with some flavors we’ve never seen before. Collards and ghost peppers, beets and fresno peppers, and sweet potatoes and habanero peppers are three of the five combinations Davis-Allonce has put together for her company, Hot N Saucy. Our taste testers had fun trying these on some simple roasted cauliflower, which really let us taste the difference in each variety. Some are thick and creamy; some are thinner, but all have plenty of kick. The favorite might have been the sweet potato hot sauce, which tastes and smells distinctly of roasted sweet potatoes, then hits you with that habanero heat. And, it didn’t hurt that the fun packaging is as bright as the flavors.
$10 per 5-ounce bottle. Available at T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods and hotnsaucy.co.
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