By Laura Hayes, Senior Community Reporter
(Photo/Laura Hayes)
MARLBOROUGH – Armed with Mason jars and a tub of sliced cucumbers, a group of people learned how to pickle at the Marlborough Senior Center on Aug. 24.
The group pickled cucumbers that had been grown in the center’s greenhouse.
“I wanted to do something easy,” said Program/Volunteer Coordinator Lisa Martino. “I’ve never done it before. We’ve never done it as a group before. I’m happy with the turnout. You never know when you throw things out there, what will take and what won’t.”
The Senior Center’s greenhouse was built immediately before the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, staff took care of the plants and gave some of the produce away to some of the people who utilized to the center’s grab-and-go meals program.
This year, Martino wanted to do something that was more inclusive and get people out and about.
So, Martino found a pickling recipe online.
“We came up with a simple recipe that had few ingredients. I didn’t want to stress people out with ingredients. And, if they like it, they can do it at home easily,” she said.
Some of the ingredients — like the cucumbers — were prepared before the class. The group then crushed garlic and combined the cucumbers and vinegar brine into Mason jars.
Martino hopes to hold a similar pickling event in the future.
