The Pickled City: The Story of New York Pickles (Princeton Architectural Press, 2026) by Paul van Ravestein and Monique Mulder, with a foreward by Sandor Ellix Katz, takes a deep dive into the history of the iconic brined cucumber by tracing the pickle’s journey from ancient Mesopotamia to Eastern Europe to Manhattan’s Lower East Side, unearthing a hidden world of family stories and economic contributions that helped shape New York’s cultural, culinary, and literal foundations.
With a wealth of photographs, historical images, documents, illustrations, advertisements, and more, this unique food biography includes a brief history of the pickle from 2400 BCE to 2026.
The book includes an overview of the rise of the pickle industry in the United States, which has grown substantially in recent years.
There are profiles of immigrant families and their iconic pickle companies, including enduring brands like Katz, Heinz, Underwood, and Vlasic and a survey of the profusion of pickle peddlers, stands, and stores across the Lower East Side from 1850 – 1980, exploring how the pickle industry was born and survived through decades of change.
Also featured are the stories behind New York City’s most recognizable pickle stores and brands, including Guss’ Pickles, The Pickleman, The Pickle Guys, Russ & Daughters, Katz’s Deli, and Ba-Tampte, and much more.
This visually impressive and well-researched volume explores the economic, social, and culinary history of immigrant New York pickle merchants and the ancient history of the humble pickle with humor and affection.
The hundreds of images gracing these pages―including color and black-and-white photographs, newspaper archives, family photos, maps, food art, street photography, and much more―many culled from the New York Historical, bringing the narrative to vivid life.
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