Unconventional Pickling Guide to Fruits, Green Tomatoes, and Eggs

Across an online cooking discussion about unusual foods to pickle, the strongest theme was curiosity backed by practical success. The conversation moved well beyond standard cucumbers and onions, focusing instead on ingredients that felt surprising but still turned out well for many home cooks. A recurring recommendation was green tomatoes, which were mentioned often as a rewarding option. Pickled eggs also appeared repeatedly as an unconventional choice that people considered successful. Fruit was another major thread, with several contributors pointing to sweet produce as a worthwhile direction for experimentation. The discussion was broad rather than technical, so the clearest takeaway was not one fixed method, but a set of ingredients that people repeatedly found promising when exploring unconventional pickling.

The most consistently praised ideas The most reliable recommendations centered on green tomatoes and eggs. Both appeared as unusual but proven options rather than novelty items that sounded better than they tasted. Fruit also stood out as a recurring category rather than a single isolated idea. Watermelon, figs, peaches, cherries, pears, pineapple, papaya, grapes, and plums were all mentioned as picklable fruits that people enjoyed.

• Green tomatoes
• Eggs
• Watermelon
• Figs
• Peaches
• Cherries
• Pears
• Pineapple
• Papaya
• Grapes
• Plums

Vegetables beyond the usual range Another recurring pattern was enthusiasm for vegetables that are less commonly associated with pickling. Zucchini, radishes, okra, cauliflower, beets, celery, fennel, and broccoli were all presented as worthwhile choices. These were not framed as rare failures or gimmicks. Instead, they appeared as practical examples of how broad pickling can be when cooks look beyond the standard pantry of familiar pickles.

Other vegetables and plant parts appeared more cautiously, usually as individual successes or interesting ideas. These included kohlrabi, bok choy, garlic scapes, asparagus, pumpkin rinds, celeriac, parsnip, and purslane. Because most of these were mentioned only once, they are better understood as possibilities than as firm recommendations.

Fruit pickling as a major theme If one category gave the discussion its most distinctive character, it was fruit. Several contributors clearly enjoyed pickled fruit, especially watermelon, figs, and peaches. Cherries and pears also appeared among the more established examples, while pineapple, papaya, grapes, and plums extended the range further. Some suggestions were more speculative, including mango and banana, so those ideas carried less certainty. Even so, the repeated appearance of fruit across the discussion suggests that unconventional pickling often leads people toward sweet produce rather than only savory vegetables.

Mixed views and edge cases Views were mixed on tomatoes. Green tomatoes were widely treated as suitable for pickling, but ripe tomatoes drew more uncertainty. Some participants expressed the view that ripe tomatoes were not really a pickling candidate, while another reported having eaten pickled ripe tomatoes and praised them. That leaves green tomatoes as the stronger recommendation, with ripe tomatoes remaining an example of divided opinion rather than a settled conclusion.

There were also a number of unusual items that appeared as single, memorable mentions. These included rosehips, nasturtium seed pods, walnuts, tofu, apples, lemons, brussels sprouts, and fried herring. They help show the range of experimentation in the discussion, but they did not appear often enough to carry the same weight as green tomatoes, eggs, or the broader fruit category.

Broader inspiration from pickling traditions A few explicit suggestions pointed readers toward wider traditions for ideas. Korean banchans were recommended as a source of inspiration, and Japanese pickled plums and shibazuke were also mentioned. Sichuan style pickles, including radishes and mustard greens, appeared as another useful direction for anyone looking to explore beyond familiar Western style pickles. These references worked more as inspiration than as detailed instruction, but they reinforced the main point that unconventional pickling has many established paths.

Category	Repeatedly recommended	More tentative or single mention
Eggs and tomatoes	Green tomatoes, eggs	Ripe tomatoes
Fruit	Watermelon, figs, peaches, cherries, pears, pineapple, papaya, grapes, plums	Mango, banana, apples, lemons, rosehips
Vegetables and others	Zucchini, radishes, okra, cauliflower, beets, celery, fennel, broccoli	Kohlrabi, bok choy, pumpkin rinds, celeriac, parsnip, purslane, walnuts, tofu

In summary, the most dependable takeaways from this discussion are clear. Green tomatoes and eggs were the standout unconventional choices, and pickled fruit emerged as a recurring favorite rather than a niche experiment. A broad set of vegetables, including zucchini, radishes, okra, cauliflower, beets, celery, fennel, and broccoli, also appeared to be worth trying. Beyond those stronger patterns, the discussion opened the door to many more unusual ingredients, but often with lighter support. For a practical decision, the safest reading is to start with green tomatoes, eggs, or one of the more frequently mentioned fruits, while treating the rarer ideas as interesting possibilities rather than settled recommendations.