Holiday Gift Boxes

Seasonal boxes filled with useful jars

The Pickled Favorites Sampler gathers the jars that seem to travel most often between tables. We begin with vegetables that show up regularly at Ohio and Great Lakes markets, then slice, spear, or chop them before they go into clean brine. Cucumbers, beets, onions, peppers, and a few other steady crops stand at the center. Amish and family partners help with the trimming and packing, paying attention to texture as much as flavor so each jar stays crisp even after it has been opened a few times.

Most of what you see in this sampler shares recipes with our larger Pickled Vegetables collection. Bread and butter pickles have a soft sweetness that works on sandwiches and burgers. Sharper spears carry tang that cuts through sausages and rich cuts of meat. Pickled beets and onions bring color and brightness to plates that lean heavy on potatoes, roasts, and casseroles. The brines stay straightforward on purpose, built from vinegar, water, salt, a fair amount of sugar where it belongs, and spices you could hold in your hand.

These same jars are at home wherever people gather around common foods. In our Tailgate Snacks group, they sit beside chips, dips, and slow cooker meats in parking lots and driveways. A bowl of pickled vegetables on the folding table can disappear almost as quickly as the wings. At home, the sampler makes it easy to put something bright next to chili, stew, pulled pork, or a pan of baked chicken without starting a new pot on the stove.

Cheese and meat boards have their own needs, and the jars here understand that as well. A few of these favorites appear again in our Charcuterie & Cheese Pairings, where pickles sit among sharp cheddars, soft cheeses, sliced sausage, and crusty bread. Pickled beets and onions cut through fat and salt, giving people something clean to reach for between heavier bites. Even a small plate on a weeknight can feel more complete with one jar open beside the cheese and crackers.

Because the sampler leans on recipes from Great Lakes Favorites and Ohio Pantry Picks, the flavors tend to feel familiar rather than showy. Someone might recognize a pickle that tastes like a neighbor used to make, or a beet that reminds them of church suppers and family reunions. The boxes are put together with that feeling in mind. Nothing inside needs a special occasion, yet everything can serve one if it appears.

In practice, a Pickled Favorites Sampler rarely stays intact for long. One jar might head straight to the fridge for sandwiches and late night snacks. Another might be saved for a weekend cookout. A third may wait in the pantry for a holiday or a visit from family. Through it all, the work stays the same. Small batch cooking, careful help from Amish and family partners, and ingredient lists that read like a home recipe card. The sampler simply gathers those jars in one place so Ohio families can keep a bit of that steady, briny help within easy reach.