Pickles are a traditional refrigerator food. But when you visit the grocery store, you may be confused by the variety of pickles available. Because each variety of pickle is canned and preserved differently, they all have different flavors, textures, and applications! Below, we’ve broken down the various types of pickles that have been popular for decades. Let’s explore Types of Pickles You Should Know and Try.
What are Pickles?
Pickles may be familiar to you as the juicy, crunchy spears served at family gatherings and picnics. But pickles are so much more than that. Pickles are a great addition to sandwiches, pickle chips, and appetizers. They come in a variety of tastes, sizes, and colors, and they can be sweet, sour, or spicy.
Pickled cucumbers are commonly referred to as pickles by most Americans. Most people identify pickles as the pleasantly sweet and sour green delicacy that goes with sandwiches, burgers, and as a tasty snack. Many people are unaware, though, that pickles are not just created from cucumbers but may also be prepared from other fruits, vegetables, and other foods.
Why Should You Eat Pickles?
If you are unclear about whether pickled vegetables are healthy or not, let’s disclose it. Pickled food and vegetables are not only delicious, but they are also a great source of vitamins, minerals, and beneficial microorganisms.
Because pickles are pickled in a salty brine, which draws out water, pickles have a high concentration of vitamins, including vitamin K, vitamin C, and vitamin A. Sourdough bread and kimchi are two examples of fermented foods that are believed to support intestinal health.
Types of Pickles
Pickles come in a wide variety and are enjoyed for their distinctive features. Their qualities differ in terms of size and taste. Here’s a collection of various pickle varieties to help you distinguish between them:
Dill Pickles
Dill pickles are the most well-known pickle type. Pickling salt, vinegar, and dill—whether fresh, dried, or as seeds—all come together to make dill pickles. It is also possible to produce dill pickles and get a Kosher certification.
Dill pickles are available in whole, spear, chip, or slice form and come in a variety of pickle cuts. You can eat hot dogs, burgers, and sandwiches with or without dill pickles. They also make excellent concession stand snacks when served whole on a stick or battered and deep-fried like chips.
Full Sour Pickles
One of the delightfully sour varieties of pickles that aren’t truly pickled but rather lacto-fermented are sour pickles. This indicates that, unlike a dill pickle brine, their brine contains no vinegar and instead depends only on salt, water, and time to produce the right flavor.
Full sour pickles are great for snacking since they are fermented rather than pickled, which means they are packed with beneficial probiotics!
Half Sour Pickles
The same fermentation method used for full-sour pickles is applied to half-sour pickles. Half-sour pickles only ferment for half as long as full-sour pickles, though, in order to produce a milder flavor. The duration of the fermenting process varies depending on the business and might be as little as a week or several months.
Sweet Pickles
Similar to dill pickles, sweet pickles are prepared by adding a small amount of sugar to the brine mixture. Sweet pickles should not be confused with candied pickles, which are pickles packed in a syrupy brine.
Sweet pickles can be utilized in a variety of ways due to their dynamic flavor profile, including layering them into a sandwich to add a sweet tang, stuffing them inside olives, cutting them into a relish to spoon onto hot dogs, or eating them on their own as a snack.
Bread and Butter Pickles
Bread & butter pickles belong to the sweet pickle category. These pickles are a great fan favorite, and are typically sold crinkle-cut into pickle chips. Compared to sweet pickles, bread and butter pickles typically include a few more ingredients—none of which are, of course, bread and butter. Onions, green or red peppers, and different seeds from coriander, mustard, and celery plants are typically included in these additional components.
Bread & butter pickles are best enjoyed piled high over juicy burgers or sandwiches with a gorgeous cross section. They are most typically sold as chips.
Gherkins
Gherkins are pickles that are smaller than regular cucumbers. Typically, Persian, Kirby, or immature cucumbers are used to make these. In general, gherkins are crunchier than dill pickles and can have a sweet or savory flavor.
Gherkins are little but mighty, which makes them ideal for chopping and folding into potato salads or tuna salads, or slicing up and piling on sliders. They can even be chopped into spears for a Chicago-style hot dog.
Cornichons
Cornichons are a sort of pickle that is even smaller than a gherkin, typically measuring two inches or less. These little pickles, made in the French tradition, are incredibly flavorful and have a distinct acidic taste.
These pickles are excellent on charcuterie boards, served with pate or foie gras terrine, or even as an accompaniment to steak tartare. They’re also ideal for garnishing cocktails because of their exceptionally small size!
Specialty Pickles
The most common produce to pickle is peppers and cucumbers, however, there are other options for preservation. Pickled veggies include beets, cauliflower, onions, okra, carrots, and pretty much any hearty vegetable. Even well-liked pickled mixtures like giardiniera exist!
Pickling isn’t just for veggies. For millennia, pickling has been used to preserve fruits, eggs, meats, and fish while enhancing their flavor.
Final Words
This is our overall guide on types of pickles.Pickled vegetables offer numerous nutritional advantages, such as helping with weight loss, promoting healthy digestion, and providing antioxidants to ward against illness. If pickled vegetables are consumed in moderation and low-added-value varieties are chosen, people can relish the unique tastes and health benefits of pickled vegetables as part of a balanced diet.
