pickles

Photo from Food Emporium

I'm going through this phase right now that with every sandwich I eat, I want a pickle with it. Yes, I'm pregnant. No, I don't eat pickles with ice cream. Not yet at least.

I'll eat any kind of pickle I can find, but my favorite is half sour pickles.

I tried to explain this to my husband -- who hates pickles (he must have chips with his sandwiches and I don't like chips) and he got very confused in the grocery store. He actually told me when he got back from shopping that they didn't have them. Turns out, he didn't know where to look.

I went and there they were -- Ba-Tampte Half Sours -- my fave. In case you don't know your pickle, here are the different kinds and tastes.

 

A pickle is simply a pickled cucumber (low in calories and no fat) soaked in brine, which is a mixture of salt water and sometimes vinegar. There are many ways to pickle a pickle as The Nibble points out.

  • Bread & Butter pickles are sweet and tangy -- the kind you find on top of a burger at a restaurant cut in small circles.
  • Dill pickles are the darker green pickle, pickled with mustard, pepper, garlic, and dill. It packs a lot of pickly flavor and have a higher acidic taste to them.
  • Half sours are my favorite and they retain more cucumber taste and are made without vinegar and less salt. They are more crisp and are a more vibrant shade of green.
  • Sour pickles are similar to half sour, but they are soaked for longer in the seasoned brine.
  • German-style dill pickles are made without a traditional brine, instead soaks cucumber in lemon juice or just vinegar, making them less sour.
  • Gherkins are the tiny pickle, from a smaller cucumber species found in West India. They can be prepared dill or sweet.
  • Sweet pickles is made in a brine of sugar, vinegar, and other spices. Bread & Butter fit into this variety as well. 

Do you like pickles? What is your favorite kind?