These were actually half-sour pickles. That particular Deli makes them and they are kept in barrels with the brine. If you take the out shortly before shootg retain that look. Some foods can be surface enhanced with vario oils but it would not look good on pickles. Brine is made of vinegar, salt and spices and oils and glazes would not sit well on an acetic surface.

In the barrels, the strongest sour picked are the bottom l- that have been in the longest, the intermediate ones are in the middle and the half-spurs are near the top rim. By the way, those pickles taste incredibly good and crunchy. No chemicals, or preservatives that most folks can pronounce.

The smoked brisket of beef (Canadian kinda pastrami) is also brined and smoked on the promises and not prepackaged fr m a commercial source. The commercial stuff is injected with artificial smoke flavour, this is the real stuff.

Good chefs and food stylists try not to overdo the "food cosmetics". Mann natural foodstuffs look their best if simply prepared properly. We do undercook poultry so it won't wrinkle and coat it with Boveral to brown it. We steam vegetables to retain their green colour and put marbles in soup to for the ingredient to the top so it does not look watery. We dip ice cream scoop into a dry ice solution so they won't med under the lights.

We do have a sign posted in the studio that warns new assistants "NOT TO EAT THE FOOD". When the new guys ask why they can't eat the stuff after the shoot, we mention that if they eat the ice cream they will end up looking like Lon Chaney in "The Fantom of the Opera" and as for the understood chicken or turkey, we just make a joke- Knock-knock, who's there- SAM!, "sam WHO. SAM snd ELLA

A scrim is a material placed between the light source and the object to reduces/ diffuses light. In this case, The left-hand scrim was a frame wrapped with a white translucent cloth and the backdrop was basically the same except it was a plastic wrap. I was using what I had on hand.
On a very professional level, some will say that the woven cloth will produce a woven display of light on the subject where the plastic will not. I haven't been able to prove or disprove that fact, but then I'm not using professional high-grade equipment either. That would be a discussion for Mr. Shapire.
Hope this helps a little.
Steve

A scrim is a material placed between the light source and the object that reduces/diffuses light. In this case The left hand scrim was a frame wrapped with a white translucent cloth and the backdrop was basically the same expect it was a plastic wrap. I was using what I had on hand.
On a very professional level, some will say that the woven cloth will produce a woven display of light on the subject where the plastic will not. I haven't been able to prove or disprove that fact, but then I'm not using professional high grade equipment either. That would be a discussion for Mr. Shapire.
Hope this helps a little.
Steve