To the uninitiated, pickles can be off-putting. Any food that vies for blue ribbons at the state fair automatically implies a certain level of complexity. Couple this award-winning potential with the lore of champions relinquishing titles over softness, cloudiness, or God forbid, spoilage, and the intimidation factor is enough to cause seasoned cooks to gasp at the sight of a Mason jar! Fortunately for us, Julia took all fear out of the pickling process in her September 2007 edition of Prep School in Sauce magazine. By coupling sure-fire processing tips with tried-and-true pickle recipes, like these bread and butter classics from her mother-in-law, Julia ensured that anyone can be a pickling pro.