Adding crunch to the winter table

Jars of pickles by Liubiju, a Beijing pickle maker that is more than 400 years old. When the first frosts arrive and the garden turns bare, it's time to get all in a pickle Editor's Note: China is divided into as many culinary regions as there are different ethnic groups. Earlier, our ayi had already put aside a big urn of salted brown mustard greens, a slightly tart pickle called xuelihong. Xuelihong keeps its bright green color even after pickling and is a wonderful addition to our winter diet when glasshouse greens are so expensive. Apart from the common white radish or daikon, there are also green fruit radishes and rotund watermelon radishes.