"pickle" news and stories

Happy "Snack a Pickle Time!"

Often mistakenly interpreted to include only the green, cucumber variety, the term "pickle" actually refers to any "food that has been preserved in a seasoned brine or vinegar mixture," according to The New Food Lover's Companion. The most pickled food products include cucumbers, cauliflower, pearl onions, baby corn, watermelon rind, herring and pig's feet (!), but the variety of things that can be pickled range as much as the possible pickling flavors, namely sweet, sour or hot.

A plethora of pickling spices are also often used to season pickles, with blends often including allspice, bay leaves, cinnamon, clovers, cardamon, mustard seeds, ginger and peppercorns -- but you can get creative, with everything from fresh herbs like dill to exotic condiments from your refrigerator (Sriracha pickles!). If you're looking for an all-inclusive guide to making your own pickles, we recommend that of The Joy of Pickling: 250 Flavor-Packed Recipes for Vegetables and More from the Garden or Market. But if you're seeking to satisfy an instant craving, we recommend placing an order for some whiskey sour pickles or fennel beets from the pros at Brooklyn Brine company.

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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.

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]

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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.