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THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2021
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THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, SEPT. 18, 2021 • B1
‘A labor
of love’
Astoria woman creates
pickling business with
locally-grown ingredients
By ZOË BUCHLI
For The Astorian
A
pandemic -related job loss prompted
Silqet Ra to pour her eff orts and
resources into pursing her passion of
pickling.
A resident of Astoria for 10 years, she
created 9th & Q, a pickled food company
that aims to elevate snacking on the Ore-
gon Coast. She makes a variety of snacking
goodies, most notably her pickled vegeta-
bles, but also granolas, dips and salads. Her
treats have been sold at Gathered Bakeshop
& Market, Good to Go, Street 14 Cafe and
Peter Pan Market & Deli.
“I love to snack, and so a lot of this is
what I like to eat and how I like to eat,” Ra
said.
Ra learned how to pickle from her part-
ner, who made her a variety of pickles for
Christmas one year, and she’s been hooked
since.
Before the pandemic, Ra worked as a
server and pickled on the side as a hobby.
Then COVID-19 hit, and she lost her serv-
ing job. She started focusing on evolving
her business.
Creating fresh, delicious snacks allows
Ra to share her love for eating locally-grown
TOP: Silqet Ra runs the pickling business 9th & Q. BELOW: 9th & Q’s pickled turmeric caulifl ower, bread and butter pickles,
pink onions and red beets. BELOW RIGHT: 9th & Q’s homemade granola paired with yogurt. BOTTOM RIGHT: 9th & Q creates
several dips including vegetable cheese, hummus and vegan roasted garlic and carrot spread.
See Pickling, Page B5