If you take the five basic flavour profiles – sweet, sour, salty, bitter, umami – then add the basic contrasts of a successful dish – smooth, crunchy, zingy, fatty, crispy – you soon realise that using pickles in your cooking can lay down some excellent funky beats.

Having a range of pickles and preserves in your fridge is akin to your Spotify playlists: you can scan through them and, depending on your mood, use them to add verve to your dishes and your day. For Caitlin Ruth, when it comes to pickles she’s looking for taste, a contrast of flavours and a good way to make a funky dish.

There are few dishes that can’t be improved by the addition of a pickle – and few fruits and vegetables that can’t be thrown into a jar in a 10-minute pickle project. With suggestions for how to eat and serve each pickle and tips on how to use them in surprising ways (think pickle-brined fries or a pickle zhoug), Caitlin puts the fun into funky to pack your plate with flavour.

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Caitlin Ruth has been working in restaurant kitchens since she was 12 years old. Formerly head chef of Deasy’s Restaurant near Clonakilty, West Cork, she hails from Dublin, New Hampshire in the US and has called Ireland her home since 1992. Listed in McKenna’s 100 Best, awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand and recently named a Munster Local Food Hero, she now has a food truck, Caitlin Ruth Food, that serves a menu driven by seasonal ingredients from West Cork’s local growers and producers.