Happy National Pickle Day!

by Alexa Weibel, Posted Nov 14th 2009 @ 1:00PM

Assorted pickled vegetables. Photo: vbalchen, Flickr.

Happy National Pickle Day! Though most commonly perceived and popularized as a brined cucumber, the "Food Lover's Companion" defines the pickle as any "food that has been preserved in a seasoned brine or vinegar mixture." According to the guide, the most popular pickling subjects beyond the cucumber typically include pearl onions, cauliflower, watermelon rind, baby corn, herring and pig's feet -- though most any vegetable can be pickled, it need only be firm enough to not dissolve in brine.

Brines range from sweet (Bread-and-Butter Pickles), to sour or hot (Spicy Dill Pickles), or may take on the flavor of whatever additives, from herbs to spices (Rosemary-Garlic Pickles). And the brine itself holds a range of uses too: soup stock, drink base, even hangover remedy! In one of the more surprising uses, a shot of pickle juice follows a shot of Jameson in the "pickle back" drink.

For an unexpected range of recipes, check out ilovepickles.org and get creative!

Become a member of the Slashfood Flickr pool to get a shot at having your photos featured in Feast Your Eyes.

Filed under: Food Oddities, Did you know?, Food News, Ingredients, Holidays
Tags: bread-and-butter pickles, Bread-and-butterPickles, condiments, did you know, ilovepickles.org, national pickle day, NationalPickleDay, oddities, pickle, pickle back, PickleBack, pickling, rosemary-garlic pickles, Rosemary-garlicPickles, spicy dill pickles, SpicyDillPickles, vegetables

Print Email More...

Add Your Comments

New Users
Returning

Name

E-mail

E-mail:

Password

Add your comments:

E-Mail me when someone replies to this comment

If you are posting a comment for the first time, please enter your name and email address in the fields above. Your name will be displayed with your comment. Your email address will never be displayed.

Please keep your comments relevant to this blog entry. Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments.

When you enter your name and email address, you'll be sent a link to confirm your comment, and a password. To leave another comment, just use that password.

To create a live link, simply type the URL (including http://) or email address and we will make it a live link for you. You can put up to 3 URLs in your comments. Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br /> tags.