Šárka Otevřel Camrdová and Marek Bartoš shine a light on the 'real treasure' of food preservation in Czechia
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Our cookbook of the week is God Is a Pickle: Recipes and Stories for Preserving the Seasons – A Culinary Journey Through the Czech Republic by Šárka Otevřel Camrdová and Marek Bartoš.
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Jump to the recipes: cherry compote, bublanina (Czech fruit cake) and wild strawberry jam.
Šárka Otevřel Camrdová sees food preservation as a spiritual practice of sorts. Czechia, where she was born and raised, is considered one of the world’s most secular countries. “We don’t go to church on Sundays, but what we do is preserving,” says the food writer and editor who divides her time between Europe and New York City. “For us, it’s very meditative, something we believe in.” Pantry shelves stocked with jars of homemade preserves are “almost sacred.”
In God Is a Pickle (Gestalten, 2026), Otevřel Camrdová and Prague-based food photographer Marek Bartoš show the depth of Czechs’ devotion to food preservation in all its forms, from compotes and confits to infused oils and vinegars.
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