Vegetable
Pickles
Also called dill pickles, gherkins, pickled cucumber
Cucumbers preserved in brine or vinegar — dill spears, gherkins. The crunch in a smash burger, shawarma and pickle dip. This page is the jarred cucumber, not pickled onion or mango.
Origin
Preserving cucumbers is global; the dill spear is Eastern European practice naturalised in North America. Cornichons are the smaller, sharper French cousin.
Flavour
Sour, salty, sometimes sweet, with dill and garlic if the label says so. The brine is a free ingredient — acid and salt already balanced.
How it is made
Cucumbers ferment in salt brine, or sit in vinegar for a faster, sharper pickle. Commercial jars are usually vinegar.
How to use it
Chop for pickle dip with cream cheese and sour cream; dry them a little or the dip weeps. Slice for a smash burger. Shawarma wants a spear on the side, not stirred into the meat. A splash of brine in a dressing is useful; a pour wrecks it. Do not boil pickles in a stew. Sweet pickles in a burger taste of jam.
Storage
Fridge after opening, cucumbers kept under the brine. Use a clean fork. Fruit poking out of a half-empty jar goes soft.
Recipes using it
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