Kool-Aid Pickles – Try this sweet, sour and strange sensation from the Mississippi Delta.

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by Mick Telkamp

Kool-Aid Pickles

Try this sweet, sour and strange sensation from the Mississippi Delta.
Kool-Aid Dill Pickles
The unlikely pairing of dill pickles and sugary sweet Kool-Aid are a hit with pickle lovers throughout the South.
Do not adjust your display. The name says it all. This bizarre and shockingly colorful marriage of sweet and sour, spawned from the deepest South, has found enduring success as a mouth-puckering treat at picnics, school fundraisers and even convenience stores in the Mississippi Delta and beyond. The recipe is simple. Crunchy dill pickles are soaked in a brine augmented with sugar and Kool-Aid. Within days those stately dills are transformed into sweet-and-salty delights available in a rainbow of colors. Red “Koolickles,” using cherry or tropical punch flavored Kool-Aid, are most popular, but the unnatural neon green that comes from a lime-flavored soak is positively hypnotic.

Curious? You’re not alone. Kool-Aid pickles have found increasing popularity among kids, teenagers and those who simply can’t resist the occasional culinary oddity. Short of driving to Mississippi, it’s easy to give them a try. Mix a batch of your own Koolickles at home and see what the fuss is all about. Pick your favorite color of Kool-Aid (red is a good place to start) and make sure to use plain dill pickles, as garlic doesn’t play well with these fruity flavors. Careful, though. Kool-Aid pickles can be habit forming.

Kool Aid Pickles

  • 1 quart dill pickles
  • 1 package unsweetened Kool-Aid
  • 1/2 cup sugar
Transfer brine from pickle jar into a bowl.

Stir Kool-Aid and sugar into brine to dissolve.

Return brine to jar with pickles and refrigerate at least 5 days before eating.