By: Kate Strick 

Evening Standard 

Adding pickle juice to your cocktail can cure hangovers

Drinking a Bloody Mary to cure a hangover doesn’t sound groundbreaking but Florence Cherruault’s concoction is super-powered. The Hackney mixologist and founder of The Pickle House says her revolutionary new cocktails will boost your immune system, curb sugar cravings and save you from a deadly headache the next day. The secret, she says, lies in a dusty Mason jar at the back of your kitchen cabinet.

The wonder ingredient is pickle juice, which is the miracle elixir behind Cherruault’s award-winning cocktail mix company and the name of her new book. It launches this month and it’s a micro-manual for surviving party season: a master guide to the capital’s hottest fermented concoctions, from a fiery Hawksmoor Bloody Mary to Cherruault’s own signature blend: spice, tomato juice and The Pickle House’s Original Pickle Juice, served over vodka.

It’s the ultimate hangover cure, says Cherruault. “The pickle juice is full of electrolytes which help rehydrate the body with nutrients, so there’s a health side to adding it into cocktails.” It’s also proven to soothe muscle cramps, boost vitamins and help with weight loss — crucial for surviving December’s revelry.

But there’s more than Bloody Marys: the book covers 50 of Cherruault’s hero recipes including a crowd-pleasing Dirty Pickled Martini, a refreshing Cucumber and Ginger Shrub and a fiery Pickleback (a shot of whisky followed by a shot of pickle juice) inspired by a trip to New York. “It’s very much a love it or hate it thing,” Cherruault explains. It’s a bit like trying your first coffee. “If you don’t like it the first time, you should always try a second.”

She’s always liked the sharp, briny taste of pickles ever since that trip to the US but understands that it can be a little “harsh” for the uninitiated. Which is why she includes a whole section on shrubs: pickles’ sweeter, fruit-infused cousin.

 

“It’s an easier way into drinking vinegar,” says Cherruault, and perfect for anyone with a sweet tooth. Try the apple and cinnamon shrub for a festive tipple or join a cucumber shrub masterclass at Pickle Juice’s book launch this Wednesday at Coal Drops Yard.

It’s a customer favourite and pairs well with a G&T, though the beauty of a shrub is it makes a perfect mocktail if you want a night off drinking. “When you’ve got apple cider vinegar or pickle juice in your cocktail, it adds a depth of flavour to it,” says Cherruault. “It’s not like you’re just having Shloer.”

 

Which is important: people want that kick that makes them feel like they’re drinking something alcoholic. “The acidity from the vinegar adds a similar depth of flavour as spirits, so you can’t drink it as quickly as a really sugary drink,” she continues. Her mocktail of choice is one part shrub to three parts soda water, an alternative to sweet cordials, and a signature blend at neighbouring The Little Duck Picklery in Dalston.

Dirty Bones, Ping Pong and Sketch also offer fermented cocktails — some of which are in the book — but the beauty of pickle juice is how easy it is to make at home (and how colourful it looks in your cupboards). She wants Pickle Juice to be a beginners’ guide for mastering the art of fermented drinks but hopes that Londoners will start to get creative. Send in your own pickled elixir for a chance to be included on Cherruault’s website (or perhaps the next book). In the meantime, stock up Mason jars and get pickled, minus the hangover.

By :Callie Tansill-Suddath

Bustle

If you thought pickle madness ended with the summer, think again. Earlier this year, the (internet) world was dazzled and confused by a focus on the deli counter staple. While jars of the sour spears are present in many refrigerators, rarely have they been used to flavor everything from slushes to popcorn, the way they were in the summer of 2018; if you know someone who was plugged into the trend, Walmart has created what might be the perfect gift for a devoted pickle head. The Deluxe Pickle Lovers Gift Pack is just that: packed with everything a pickle lover could ever need (and more!).

 

The Deluxe Pickle Lovers Gift Pack from Walmart is filled with essentials for anyone who claims to be devoted to the snack. For a little under $35, you get a (reusable) tin filled with pickle bandages, pickle lip balm, pickle mints, a pickle-shaped stress toy, an “I Love Pickles” Can Koozie, an “I Heart Pickles” Wristband, and some Dill Pickle Salt. So, not only does this gift set provide you with accessory essentials, it touches on lip care and cupboard essentials. There is not one emergency, pickle-related or un-pickle-related, it cannot meet. What more could you possibly need?

Deluxe Pickle Lovers Gift Set( Photo By : Walmart)

Well, now that you mention it, an actual pickle-flavored snack would be nice. Don’t worry, Walmart has that covered, too. In fact, there is an entire section of the website devoted to pickle gift packs. You can find it on the Walmart website if you search “Pickle addicts.”

 

In the EXTREME Pickle Lovers Gift Pack, you will find everything in the standard Pickle Lovers Gift Set, as well as a bag of pickle-flavored gummy candy. If on second thought you realize you ONLY want edible pickle gifts, that is an option, too! The Extreme Pickle Candy Sampler Gift Pack offers an assortment of pickle-flavored confections; it includes pickle-flavored lollipops, pickle-flavored mints, a giant pickle gummy, and not one but two varieties of pickle-flavored hard candies (in original and spicy).

Extreme Pickle Candy Sampler Gift Pack( Photo By : Walmart)

 

It goes without saying pickles have been around for a long time — back to the B.C. era, according to PBS! — but the archaic food preservation method found new life this past summer after an explosion of pickle-flavored oddities.
Drive-in chain Sonic made headlines and earned a feature in the Food and Wine with the addition of a pickle-flavored slush to its summer sweet treat menu. Apparently, the sip was pretty well-executed, too; it’s not like you got a mouthful of pickle brine. But if that sounds good to you, artisan small batch cocktail brine is also available from Washington, DC-based Gordy’s Pickle Jar. KFC even got in on the trend recently with the release of its Pickle Fried Chicken over the summer.

Unfortunately, none of these are ideal holiday gifts, seeing as most of them were seasonal (and it’s difficult to gift wrap fried chicken). So, Walmart’s specially-designed gift packs for pickle lovers are your best bet. Those detailed above are only a few of what the online store is carrying, so be sure to explore everything Walmart has to offer to satisfy your sour soul and tastebuds.

 

 

By: Zachary

Shared 

Pickles are the best snack at the movie theater!

 

They say you learn something new every day, and sometimes it’s nice to be reminded that we don’t know as much about the world (or even our own country) as we think we do.
Take the great state of Texas for example.

 

If you ask anyone in America to describe the Lone Star state, they’ll tell you about 10-gallon hats, pickup trucks, and ropin’ dogies.
But mention “movie theater pickles” to someone from another state, and you’ll probably get a few confused looks.

The truth is Texans do eat pickles at movie theaters, and they’re actually surprised that the rest of us don’t.

 

The internet actually examined Texas’ love for eating pickles in front of the big screen back in 2015, when a few articles about the strange fad appeared online.

But the news “broke” again this month, drawing surprised reactions from movie-goers in the 49 states that don’t offer pickles at the multiplex.

 

Even native Texans aren’t clear on how the pickle phenomenon started or why. Most just guess that pickles are salty, so they’re meant to encourage customers to buy more soft drinks.

Still, the trend is so widespread in Texas that many Texans can’t believe movie theaters in other states don’t serve pickles.

 

“I only learned this was different once I moved out of Texas!” shared one Reddit user.
Movie fans have even created rituals for enjoying their pickle at the theater. Some chains sell them in jars, while other sell loose pickles, or hand you a paper bag to keep your fingers dry.

But older movie fans have memories of when the pickles were stored in a big jar, and theater employees would “fish one out of the jar with tongs” for a quarter. (These days, theater pickle will set you back at least two dollars.)

 

Other locations will actually ask if you want the juice drained at the concession stand.
A few pickle-lovers even drop their snack into a popcorn bucket, maybe to blend the salty and sour flavors together.

While the movie theater pickle may be most popular in Texas, pickle sightings have been reported in other states as the news spreads online.
Florida, Mississippi, Arkansas, Utah, and Virginia also seem to be prime pickle territory.

 

By Molly Fosco

Ozy 

Why not have pickle- flavored Vodka ?

Photo By: ozy

 

There’s nothing quite like biting into a cold, crisp dill pickle fresh out of the jar. And if you’re pickle-obsessed like me, you’ve probably sneaked a few sips of the mouth-puckering brine too. Why do some people think it’s weird to drink pickle juice? In the U.S., we drink tomato juice, grapefruit juice and even green juice, which are all just as salty, sour and/or gross, depending on your flavor palate. So why not pickle juice?
And what’s even better than drinking pickle juice? Drinking pickle juice with alcohol in it, of course! Thanks to a few beverage companies that agree, pickle-flavored vodka exists for those of us who want that salty, sour flavor in our libations too.

 

Adding pickle flavor to liquor isn’t an entirely new concept. For many years, bars have served picklebacks (vodka mixed with pickle juice) to cut the harsh taste of the alcohol. But actually infusing alcohol with pickle juice? Now that’s where things get interesting. Yes, pickle vodka does taste like vodka, but the pickle flavor cuts the bite of the liquor. So you might find yourself sipping more quickly than expected.

Among the distillers of pickle-infused vodka, most are located in the Great White North. Canada puts the U.S. pickle vodka game to shame, boasting at least five distilleries that make the unusual liquor, including Birmingham’s Dill Pickle Vodka, Last Mountain Dill Pickle Vodka and Tall Grass Dill Pickle Vodka, among others. But the U.S. is slowly catching up; Blue Spirits Distilling on Lake Chelan in Washington makes a potent 120-proof pickle version.

While many of these companies make other creative infusions, Chilled Dills Pickle Flavored Vodka, based in Charleston, South Carolina, crafts and sells nothing but pickle-infused vodka. If that doesn’t seem like a sound business plan, think again. The company has grown its business each year since 2012, and it now sells in six states throughout the country.

The idea for Chilled Dills began when co-founders Marty Lloyd, his dad, John, and their friend Neil were on an annual family trip in Clearwater, Florida. Their shot of choice that year was picklebacks. But they quickly encountered a problem: The pickle juice kept running out too fast. “Do you think we could bottle this?” Lloyd recalls wondering aloud to his family and friends. The group agreed it could be done. When they returned home to South Carolina, they began distilling and infusing their first batch of Chilled Dills.

Today, they use a patented distilling technology that utilizes ultrasonic energy, which helps to reduce the harshness of the alcohol. The six-times distilled vodka is then infused with all-natural pickles and pickle juice, unlike many flavored alcohols that are typically mixed with a powder, says Lloyd.

Chilled Dills is smooth enough to drink on the rocks or with a splash of soda water, but other ways to enjoy it is in a bloody mary, a pickletini or a “summertime slowdown” cocktail, which combines mint simple syrup, strawberry and lemon with pickle vodka over ice.

The vodka has won multiple awards, including the double gold medal in 2013’s “50 Best Flavored Vodkas,” a silver medal in the 2014 “San Francisco World Spirits Competition,” and a silver medal in the 2015 “Wine and Spirits Tasting Competition.”

If the awards don’t change your skepticism of pickle-flavored vodka, order a bottle for yourself online — although beware of shipping costs. For example: With the cheapest FedEx delivery option to San Francisco, you’re looking at $49.37.

Chilled Dills Best Bloody Mary
Pickle vodka is the perfect companion to a spicy, tangy bloody mary at Sunday morning brunch.
2 ounces Chilled Dills pickle vodka
3 ounces of your favorite bloody mary mix
Dash of Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
Hot sauce of your choosing
Rub lemon slice on the rim of the glass and dip in Old Bay seasoning. Shake ingredients with ice and pour. Garnish with everything you can think of.

Pickletini
For nighttime vibes, try a pickletini — a dirty martini with pickle juice instead of olive juice.
2 ounces Chilled Dills pickle vodka
1 ounce of pickle juice (or more for the true pickle fiends)
Shake with ice and serve up. Garnish with pickle slices.

 

By: Liz Shepard

Times Herald

Rhino’s Pizzeria’S Big Dill Pizza in New York. (Photo: Tracy Malloy)

 

LEXINGTON – It’s hard to not love pizza.

The crunch of a good crust, melted gooey mozzarella, some Parmesan and maybe basil and garlic.
And the endless choice in toppings. But a new trend has emerged and a local company is its surprising foundation. A pickle covered pizza recently hit internet stardom, with one video of its crafting at a New York pizzeria earning more than 26 million views.
Those pickles covering the viral pizza were produced in Lexington.

“It was pretty awesome to see obviously, but never in a million years did I think a pickle pizza would get 26 million views,” said Marc Gielow, Gielow Pickles’ farm and logistics manager.
Gielow is the fifth generation of his family to produce pickles and peppers in Lexington.

“We don’t cut corners and make a cheap product, we try to make a good quality product at a reasonable price,” he said. Gielow said most people don’t realize how widely his family’s pickles are distributed.He said the company employs between 300 and 350 people. The pickles they make are used by chains including Subway and Jersey Mikes and are sold by Gordon Food Services and Sysco.

If you want to buy them locally, you have to catch them at either the Port Huron or Port Austin farmers markets. Gielow said they no longer sell retail at the Lexington location, as the business has grown too big. Annually, the company produces about 25 million pounds of banana peppers and close to one million bushels of cucumbers.
And they’re getting bigger.

Gielow said annual growth is between 20 percent and 25 percent each year. “It’s a great feeling to know people love what we do. Obviously we have a passion for it because we’ve been doing it for five generations,” he said.

“To see other people love it is awesome.” Anyone looking to enjoy a pickle pizza with the Gielow Pickles is in luck.
The team at Sweetwater Gourmet Deli and Bakery in Lexington decided to offer a pickle pizza as a special one weekend this month.

Leiza Lee, one of the Sweetwater employees, said it was a collaboration of ideas that formed the garlic crust pizza with layers of olive oil, mozzarella, Gielow pickles, garlic, dill and topped it with ranch dressing.

But the plan to offer it only for the weekend didn’t go over well. “It kind of blew up,” said Nicole Graham, who saw the viral pickle pizza post. With the traditional components plus the delicious, the salty, crunchy, thin pickle chips take the pizza to a whole different level.

Graham said people are still coming in and requesting it, so Sweetwater is continuing to make it.
“Really cool to hear the feedback,” she said, which included “Everything I needed to complete my day.”

Lee said it was fun to hear so many people excited about the pickle pie. “It’s kind of exciting, something new and they like it,” she said.
While Sweetwater appears to be the first local eatery to offer a pickle pizza, the New York pizzeria that started the trend is continuing to pack in the orders for the Gielow-covered pies.

In August, New York based Rhino’s Pizzeria posted photos of its pickle covered pizza on Instagram, with the hashtag #BreakTheInternet. Tracy Malloy, owner of Rhino’s Pizzeria in New York, said going viral has been intense. “It’s been crazy, very crazy,” she said by phone Thursday.

Similar to Sweetwater’s story, Malloy said creating the pickle-covered pizza was a group effort sparked by an employee’s daughter who brought the idea home from a Pennsylvania pickle festival.

“It went crazy,” Malloy said of the release of the Big Dill Pizza, adding people have traveled from across the country to try it. While Rhino’s and Sweetwater’s pies are a bit different, they do share the same key component — the Gielow pickles. “They just have a really good flavor and they’re very thin, they’re not too thick,” Malloy said. “Just a really good pickle.”

She said their secret garlic sauce is also a key piece of the pie. Since going viral, they’ve started bottling and selling it at https://www.etsy.com/shop/Rhinossauces.
Marc Gielow said he hasn’t yet tried a pickle pizza, but he and his family are all fans of the product they’ve been making for so long.
“I have two boys who are pickle enthusiasts,” he said.