I am all about pickles. One of my favorite eating sensations is when you chomp into a kosher dill and the sweet-salty brine makes your cheeks cave in. Yeah, that's good stuff.

Y'know what else I like? Kool-Aid. Because even hyperexaggerated interpretations of fruit deserve their own flavor palette. That, and I have no shame.

There was a point in my life when these two snack joys maintained independent existences. It was a simpler time. But then someone pointed me to Alton Brown's recipe for Koolickles and my world was upended. Apparently, these are standard fare in the Mississippi Delta, and the trend picked up steam when the New York Times ran a piece on them last year. So now I must ask: Who here has tried these? What are they like? Are they the solution to all of my Kool-Aid-pickle-pairing problems? Or are they hell in the form of an cylinder? I demand answers.

Recipe after the jump.

Hey, if we can have cravings for sour cream and dill flavored chips, why not in a drink?

That's what Brandon Brooks thought back in the year 2000, when he hypothesized that people "sneak" a sip of the juice from a jar of pickles. He confirmed his hypothesis when Eagles players drank pickle juice to stay hydrated in the 120 degree heat at Texas Stadium against the Cowboys. Pickle juice was a sports drink? Apparently.

Now Pickle Juice is official as Pickle Juice Sport, made with natural dill, vinegar and salt. It's not caffeinated (now getting buzzed on pickle juice would just be weird), and thankfully, not carbonated.

[via: popgadget]

Back in March, Andrew wrote a post about a woman who was terrified of peas to the point where she couldn't even be in the same aisle with them when shopping. I assumed that that was a one-off incident and that an actual fear of a food product wasn't keeping many people awake at night. While I can't actually speak to what they do with their nights, there are more food-phobes out there and they are spending their days on national TV. I saw a link to this video while reading the Amateur Gourmet. The episode of Maury is titled "My Fear of Mustard and Pickles Is Ruining My Life."

The title just about says it all, doesn't it? Watch the clip above and you can see the girl (a waitress) with the pickle phobia visit a pickle factory before they attempt to cure her. You might want to turn the sound on your speakers down, too, as there is a fair bit of screaming involved.

I managed to sneak a look at some dozing persons newspaper this afternoon - it's damn hot here in the UK today so an afternoon doze is fine by me. Lying under their arm was a pickle taste test - and shock! horror! the ubiquitous Branston Pickle came out badly!

The tasters top pickle, as is so often the case, comes from a small independent producer. In this case a round of applause to Woody's Sussex Special Pickle. The quote says "Much lighter in colour than the rest, but the balance of sweetness and sourness is perfect. You get apples, prunes, swede and celery packed in, and there is none of that nasty, sugary gloop. Lovely."

Cost is £2.33. Their website offers a host of delicious looking products so you can add plenty more to your shopping basket.

Second place went to Marks and Spencers Pickle (£1.39)