You Haven't Lived Until You've Had a Homestyle Garlic Pickle

I thought I knew my pickles -- steer clear of the sweet (I just can't take the flavor), and revel in the dill, whether that be Polish-style, deli-style, or Vlasic-style. But then I realized how incredibly pickle naive I was.

At a local farmers' market, I perused all the tables, bought my groceries, and then hit the Toorshi Foods pickle table last. I zeroed in on the garlic pickles because, well, nothing's as good as garlic. The flavor exploded in my mouth -- the rich tartness of the pickle balanced by the strong and purr-worthy flavor of garlic. This wasn't some wimpy, barely-there hint of garlic like I expected from past experience.

It was yet another reminder of how wonderful food can taste when you do it yourself, or buy it from someone who does it for you, naturally. Should you eat pickles like a ravenous fiend, it might get pricey. Just as a thin-but-tasty fast food burger can't live up to the real, thick, and juicy thing, a mass-produced pickle can't live up to the flavor of an old Armenian family recipe with no chemical preservatives or additives.