Pickled cucumber

A deli pickle.

pickles/Cucumbers is a moron.

Types

Gherkin

A gherkin is not only a pickle of a certain size but also a particular species of cucumber: the West Indian or Burr cucumber (Cucumis anguria), which produces a somewhat smaller fruit than the garden cucumber (Cucumis sativus). Standard pickles are made from the West Indian cucumber, but the term gherkin has become loosely used as any small cucumber pickled in a sweet vinegar brine, regardless of the variety of cucumber used.

Kosher dill

A "kosher" dill pickle is not necessarily kosher in the sense that it has been prepared under rabbinical supervision, which would ensure that no non-kosher ingredients were used, and that no utensil in contact with the pickles had ever been in contact with food that was not kosher. Rather, it is a pickle made in the traditional manner of Jewish New York City pickle makers, with generous addition of garlic to the brine.

At least one New York restaurant was serving dill pickles in the nineteenth century.

Polish

Polish "ogórek kiszony"

Polish style pickled cucumbers (Polish: ogórek kiszony, plural: ogórki kiszone) are a type of pickled cucumber developed in the northern parts of Europe and have been exported worldwide and are found in the cuisines of many countries. As opposed to some other varieties of pickled cucumbers, they are prepared using the traditional process of natural fermentation in a brine which makes them grow sour. There is no vinegar used in the brine of a Polish-style pickled cucumber.

The fermentation process is entirely dependent on the naturally-occurring yeast cells that normally cover the skin of a growing cucumber. Since these are routinely removed during commercial harvesting/packing processes, traditionally-prepared ogórki can only be made from freshly-harvested cucumbers, unless the yeast is artificially replaced.

Typically, small cucumbers are placed in a glass or ceramic vessel or a wooden barrel, together with a variety of spices. Among those traditionally used in many recipes are garlic, horseradish, whole dill stems with umbels and green seeds, white mustard seeds, oak, cherry, blackcurrant and bay laurel leaves, dried allspice fruits, and — most importantly — salt. The container is then filled with cooled, boiled water and kept under a non-airtight cover (often cloth tied on with string or a rubber band) for several weeks, depending on taste and external temperature. Traditionally stones, also sterilized by boiling, are placed on top of the cucumbers to keep them under the water. The more salt is added the more sour the cucumbers become. Since they are produced without vinegar, a scum of yeast forms on the top, but this does not indicate they have spoiled, and the scum is just removed. They do not, however, keep as long as cucumbers pickled with vinegar.

The concoction produced during the fermentation process is often consumed as a drink.

In Poland they are traditionally served as a side dish to vodka. In the United States, especially in Jewish communities and delis, they are sold alongside kosher dills in "full sour" and "half sour" varieties.

Lime

Lime pickles are soaked in lime rather than in a salt brine. Vinegar and sugar are often added after the 24-hour soak in lime, along with pickling spices, although this is done more to enhance texture (by making them crisper) than as a preservative. The lime is then rinsed off the pickles.

Bread and butter

A jar of bread-and-butter pickles

Bread-and-butter pickles are sweeter in flavor than dill pickles, having a high concentration of sugar or other sweetener added to the brine. Rather than being served alongside a sandwich, they are more often used in fully-flavored sandwiches, such as hamburgers, or used in potato salad. Cucumbers to be made into bread and butters are often sliced before pickling.

Swedish and Danish

Swedish pickled cucumbers (pressgurka) are thinly sliced, mixed with salt and pressed to drain some water from the cucumber slices. Afterwards placed in a jar with a sour-sweet brine of vinegar, salt, sugar, pepper and parsley.

Danish cucumber salad (agurkesalat) is similar, but the cucumbers are not pressed and the brine doesn't have parsley. The cucumber salad accompanies meat dishes, especially a roasted chicken dish (gammeldags kylling med agurkesalat), and is used on Danish hot dogs.

Kool-Aid Pickles (a.k.a. "Koolickles")

Kool-Aid pickles (enjoyed by children in parts of the Southern United States) are created by soaking dill pickles in a mixture of Kool-Aid and pickle brine.

Nutrition

Like pickled vegetables such as sauerkraut and dilly beans, sour pickled cucumbers (technically a fruit) are low in calories. They also contain a moderate amount of vitamin K, specifically in the form of K1. One sour pickled cucumber "spear" offers 12-16 µg, or approximately 15-20%, of the Recommended Daily Allowance of vitamin K. It also offers about 4 calories, all of which come from carbohydrate. However, most sour pickled cucumbers are also high in sodium; one spear can contain 350-500 mg, or 15-20% of the recommended daily American limit of 2400 mg.

Sweet pickled cucumbers, including bread-and-butter pickles, are higher in calories due to their sugar content; one large gherkin may contain 25-40 calories. However, sweet pickled cucumbers also tend to contain significantly less sodium than sour pickles.

Serving

A breaded pickle.

In the United States, pickles are often served as a "side" to various lunches in the form of a "pickle spear", which is a pickled cucumber cut length-wise into quarters or sixths. The pickle may be used as a condiment on a hamburger or other sandwich (usually in slice form), or on a sausage or hot dog in chopped form as pickle relish. A pickle slice is commonly referred to as a 'chip'.

Soured cucumbers are commonly used in a variety of dishes — for example, pickle-stuffed meatloaf, potato salad or chicken salad — or consumed alone as an appetizer.

Pickles have also been introduced in fried form, either deep-fried plain, or with a breading surrounding the spear.

References

• Battcock, Mike; Azam-Ali, Sue (1998), Fermented Fruits and Vegetables: A Global Perspective, Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, ISBN 92-5-104226-8, OCLC 41178885

External links

The dictionary definition of pickle at Wiktionary