"NationalPickleDay" news and stories

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!

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Photo: you can count on me, Flickr.

National Pickle Day may yet be a couple of months away, but now's the time to start perfecting your technique, as did Flickr user "You Can Count on Me." Though the pickles themselves aren't even pictured, their zingy brine looks promising, with masses of fiery floating peppercorns and sprigs of dill.

Treasured for their tangy flavor alone, pickles boast both a historic background and surprising health benefits. Vitamin-C rich pickles were packed on Christopher Columbus's fateful voyage to help the seamen fight scurvy -- and actually take their name from the ship's stocker, Amerigo Vespucci. Today, the fermented fruits are considered extra nutritious for allowing bacteria the time to create additional vitamins and are in fact more easily digested than their non-treated counterparts. So get pickling!

Check out more pickle trivia at the Science of Pickles and try the pictured recipe from blog Everybody Likes Sandwiches.

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