There were always barrels of pickles at the flea markets my parents took me to when I was growing up. My dad loved half-sours; my mom loved sweet pickles; I loved both. Mom would cut both kinds in half and stick them together, so I’ d get two flavors in every bite. This is my homage to those days, made with one of my favorite ingredients.

　　

Ingredients

makes about 3 cups

　　1 pound (453g) ripe rhubarb

　　Generous 1/2 cup (125g) sherry vinegar (see Note)

　　Generous 1/2 cup (125g) rice vinegar (see Note)

　　1 cup plus 1 tablespoon (315g) honey

　　3 tablespoons (45g) grenadine

　　1 tablespoon (12g) coarse salt

　　2 star anise

　　

Step 1

Peel the rhubarb and cut it into neat batons about 1 1/2 inches long and 1/3 inch wide. Place in a flat-bottomed casserole.

　　

Step 2

Put the vinegars, honey, grenadine, salt, and star anise in a saucepan and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Turn off the heat and let cool for about 5 minutes. Pour over the rhubarb and cover with plastic wrap. Let cool to room temperature. Taste the pickles for texture. If they’re too crisp for your taste, drain the liquid into a clean saucepan, bring it back to a simmer, let it cool for a few minutes, then pour it over the rhubarb again—with the star anise.

　　

Step 3

Store in the refrigerator in the liquid. Serve cold.

　　Cooks' Note

　　If you can find persimmon vinegar in a Korean market, use it in this recipe, as I do. Add 1/2 cup, and reduce the amount of the sherry and rice vinegars to 1/4 cup each.

　　Reprinted with permission from Dessert Fourplay: Sweet Quartets from a Four-Star Pastry Chef by Johnny Iuzzini and Roy Finamore. Copyright © 2008 by Johnny Iuzzini and Roy Finamore. Published by Crown Publishing. All Rights Reserved.Johnny Iuzzini,, executive pastry chef of the world-renowned Jean Georges restaurant in New York City, won the award for Outstanding Pastry Chef from the James Beard Foundation in 2006. This is his first book.Roy Finamore, a publishing veteran of more than thirty years, has worked with many bestselling cookbook authors. He is the author of three books: One Potato, Two Potato; Tasty, which won a James Beard Foundation award; and Fish Without a Doubt.__