Hey, it's Curious City reporter Monica A.

And today, we've got a question from Claire Falkie.

Claire moved here from St. Louis 20 years ago.

And within a few years, she fell in love.

In love with her native Chicago husband, Scott,

but also a native Chicago food he introduced her to.

It was something he grew up eating, and he called it Jardinare.

Soon, they had it in the house all the time, where it was considered a necessity.

It features pickled hot peppers, carrots, cauliflower, and celery all packed in oil. And once Claire tried it on pizza,

she was hooked. But she didn't realize what a big deal this condiment was until she met Scott's

Southside family, who put it on everything. I mean, everything. Pork chops, pot roast, all kinds of things. Soon, Claire even gave

her mom a first taste of this controlled substance. And now? Now she's addicted to it. She should be.

But her mom lives in St. Louis, which is a problem. My mother started looking for it in St. Louis and

realized she couldn't find it anywhere.

So Claire wants to know, is this Jardinare just a Chicago thing? And if so, how did it get so big here?

I mean, some stores have like eight different brands. And when she says Jardinare, is she even saying it right?

Well, for sure, it's not Jardinair, but it's Jardiniera.

That's coming up.

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