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Does anyone know what type of peppers are typically used in giardinera?
They don't taste like jalapeños - I'm guessing maybe serranos?

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The cake is a lie

My parents and grandparents made a mild version with garden Melrose Peppers, which seems to have been pretty common with southern Italians on the West Side. If they wanted any heat, it was from a hot variety of these guys I haven't seen on a plant since I was a kid (friggitelli, used for jarred peperoncini).

I use serranos from Tony's, or a mix of mild farmers' market (whatever looks good at Oak Park) and a jalapeno. The true key for nostalgic flavor (and this is what matches close to most of the Midwest small factory-produced, as well) is really average, mild olive oil, and plain old Heinz (or cheaper) white vinegar, which has low acidity. I've tried fancy vinegar and good olive oil and it just doesn't taste right.

I've always thought that - here in Chicagoland, at least - that the peppers in giardinera were "sport peppers" of the same type as put on hot dogs. At Johnnie's Beef, I think the hot giardinera is composed of sports, for example...

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"Barbecue sauce is like a beautiful woman. If it’s too sweet, it’s bound to be hiding something."
— Lyle Lovett

"How do you say 'Yum-o' in Swedish? Or is it Swiss? What do they speak in Switzerland?"- Rachel Ray

I'm not an authority, but I don't believe so... at least not commonly. Sport peppers are much more thin-skinned than what's typically in giardiniera, no? (There are, of course, scads of exceptions.)

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-Dom
www.skilletdoux.com

Pretty sure the giardiniera at johnnie's uses serranos, just like almost everyone else in Chicago.

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Ed Fisher
my chicago food photos

RIP LTH.

FWIW-I made a batch this past weekend using a quick brine method that worked pretty well. After cutting the veg I blanched them in heavily salted water for 20-30 seconds the shocked them in salted ice water where they sat for a couple hours. Then proceed as normal.

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http://eatpizzeriavalentino.com
http://valentinopasta.com

A houseguest from out of town would like a jar to take home. As I cannot eat giardiniera for food allergy reasons, I haven't ever purchased it. There is some old conversation in this thread about brands interspersed with the wise advice to simply make it at home; does anyone happen to have new or definitive jarred favorites (including the brand and a place to buy it would be very helpful). Thanks!

I'm partial to the stuff at Bari. You can buy it in varying levels of heat. The Extra Hot is REALLY Extra Hot, so be aware of that when you choose, depending on the spice tolerance of the giftee.

Bari Foods
1120 W Grand
Chicago, IL 60642
(312) 666-0730

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Steve Z.
Photographer/Pseudojournalist

"The only time to eat diet food is while you’re waiting for the steak to cook." - Julia Child

Agreed on both counts - best giardiniera around, and the Super Hot is way too spicy for normal humans to consume.

-Dan

The extra hot/super hot or whatever they call it awesome, but it's pretty much pure habaneros. I was surprised when I first bought a jar. I wasn't expecting a jar full of habs, but I was pleasantly surprised. One of my favorites.

Bari does have good giardiniera, but it is not really indicative of the typical style (chunks are too large). Al's has one of the thinnest sliced veggies and you can buy a pint or so to go. Much like IBs, everyone does have their own preference for what style they like.

I always have a jar of giardiniera from Connies (7600 Grand) in my refrigerator. Nice pepper level, with the very thinly sliced veggies that I prefer. Very tasty and priced around 3.00 per bottle

I've liked the giardiniera from That Pickle Guy. I picked up mine from the Skokie Farmer's Market. Other markets and retail locations are on the website.

http://www.thatpickleguy.com/

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-Mary

I like everything from That Pickle Guy, and the giard is a very good example of typical beef stand giardiniera. Much more 'traditional' than bari.

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Ed Fisher
my chicago food photos

RIP LTH.

Thats some nice looking giardi there. I would love to make it. My family puts it on almost everything, Pizza, pasta whatever. They need a little more of something with their food. My sister in law moved to Florida and regularly stocks up here on visits as they do not have it there. She carted forty dollars worth of the big jars of dellalpe with her to take back. Keep upright!!! do not store on side!!!

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Toria

"I like this place and willingly could waste my time in it" - As You Like It,
W. Shakespeare

Is giardiniera strictly a Chicago thing?

Tried to buy some a couple years ago in Pittsburgh; nobody had ever heard of it. We hit every specialty food store and several restaurants on The Strip, a funky shopping area in Pittsburgh, and drew a blank everywhere. No one had ever heard of it, let alone have it on hand.

Haven't tried this in other parts of the country... is this indicative of the rest of the USA?
Mike

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Suburban gourmand

I've only seen it in New York in a few Italian dry goods stores, and Arabic stores. The brands were all from Chicago, Marconi and Ziyad, respectively. So yeah, pretty much a Chicago thing, though I suspect local variations on the spicy/oil/pickle concept must exist.

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"By the fig, the olive..." Surat Al-Teen, Mecca 95:1"

That's been my experience. Kind of like IB but I believe word is spreading as Chicagoans sometimes open beef stands when they move away.

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The cake is a lie

I could swear I've seen it elsewhere, but it wasn't the oily concoction we're used to here, but rather just a pickle of fresh garden vegetables, like cauliflower, carrots, onions, and celery. Actually, it looks like Wikipedia has a picture of what I've seen outside Chicago. Now where I saw this, I can't exactly remember. I'm thinking it was in Philadelphia.

Actually, here's an article I found about Philadelphia dishes, and there's a picture of a cheesesteak with the type of giardiniera I described above. Also, my friend's family from Naples makes giardiniera in that pickled style without oil, too. I'm thinking the oily version might be an Italian-American, possibly specifically Chicagoan, thing.

my first attempt, read a bit of this thread as well as other research. thanks.

Curious to see how this batch turns out, oil/vinegar and spice(black pepper, garlic, oregano,) whisked up to be almost a vinagrette. Flavors were good just sampling during the process. Looking forward to trying it after a few days in the fridge.

I used:

8 jalapenos - sliced, then rough chop
2 stalks celery - chopped
2 carrots - chopped
1/2 onion - chopped

I tossed the above in a bowl with 1/2 cup of kosher salt and covered with water Refridgerated for about 8 hours, tasting along the way until I was happy with texture and salt content. Rinsed and set aside

tossed in a bowl:

black pepper
oregano
4 cloves minced garlic

added:
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup white vinegar
3/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup olive oil

I poured the liquid over the rinsed veg. adding a jar of green olives to the mix. Tossed the mix into a clean mason jar and sealed:

here is the best pic I came up with, pictured behind some abt's i did:

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I got a real good mind.

Before Cotton was King: http://www.grubseeker.blogspot.com

Looks good Jim. Let us know how it turns out after it "cures" a bit.

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Steve Z.
Photographer/Pseudojournalist

"The only time to eat diet food is while you’re waiting for the steak to cook." - Julia Child

pretty happy with this first try(my bro in law was happy to take 1/2 of this container home), might kick back a little on the cider vinegar and increase the pepper content/variety, and add more green olives.

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I got a real good mind.

Before Cotton was King: http://www.grubseeker.blogspot.com

I do like carrots but wonder if they are traditional in giardiniera. I know of two types of this kind of preparation. One is a more vinegar based preparation containing cauliflower, carrots, olives, and the like with bigger chunks, more like a pickled salad. To me that is not giardiniera. The other is the stuff served at Italian beef stands which is chopped fine and mostly green, consisting of peppers and olives and very oily. This is the real thing to me. Now I am confused if both are considered giardiniera. And what of the muffaletta type oliver spread? I think the wikipedia page is wrong and should be changed. If giardiniera is a chicago thing then wikipedia should be updated to reflect its true origins and set the record straight. (I do not know what straight is at this point but I have my thoughts).

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Toria

"I like this place and willingly could waste my time in it" - As You Like It,
W. Shakespeare