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By Shannon Cothran
People have been eating pickles ever since the Mesopotamians started making them way back in 2400 B.C.E. Here are some even more important things you should know about them.
1. In the Pacific Islands, natives pickle their foods in holes in the ground lined with banana leaves, and use them as food reserves in case of storms. The pickles are so valuable that they’ve become part of the courting process, helping a man prove he’ll be able to provide for a woman. In Fiji, guys can’t get a girl without first showing her parents his pickle pits.
2. Cleopatra claimed pickles made her beautiful. (We guess it had more to do with her genes.)
3. The majority of pickle factories in America ferment their pickles in outdoor vats without lids (leaving them subject to insects and bird droppings)! But there’s a reason. According to food scientists, the sun’s direct rays prevent yeast and molds from growing in the brine.
4. In the Delta region of Mississippi, Kool-Aid pickles have become ridiculously popular with kids. The recipe’s simple: take some dill pickles, cut them in half, and then soak them in super strong Kool-Aid for more than a week. According to the New York Times, the sweet vinegar snacks are known to sell out at fairs and delicatessens, and generally go for $.50 to a $1.
5. Not everyone loves a sweet pickle. In America, dill pickles are twice as popular as the sweet variety.
6. The Department of Agriculture estimates that the average American eats 8.5 lbs of pickles a year. [Image courtesy of Dangerous Intersection.]
7. When the Philadelphia Eagles thrashed the Dallas Cowboys in sweltering heat in September 2000, many of the players attributed their win to one thing: guzzling down immense quantities of ice-cold pickle juice.
8. If it weren’t for pickles, Christopher Columbus might never have “discovered” America. In his famous 1492 voyage, Columbus rationed pickles to his sailors to keep them from getting scurvy. He even grew cucumbers during a pitstop in Haiti to restock for the rest of the voyage.
9. Speaking of people who get credit for discovering America, when he wasn’t drawing maps and trying to steal Columbus’ thunder, Amerigo Vespucci was a well-known pickle-merchant.
10. Napoleon was also a big fan of pickle power. In fact, he put up the equivalent of $250,000 as a prize to whoever could figure out the best way to pickle and preserve foods for his troops.
11. During the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, H. J. Heinz used pick-shaped pins to lure customers to his out of the way booth. By the end of the fair, he’d given out lots of free food, and over 1,000,000 pickle pins.
12. Berrien Springs, Michigan, has dubbed itself the Christmas Pickle Capital of the World. In early December, they host a parade, led by the Grand Dillmeister, who tosses out fresh pickles to parade watchers.
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Comments (35)
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Peter Piper would be proud of this post particularly for the plethora of precious pickle propaganda published.
posted by Steven on 7-27-2009 at 3:33 pm
I gargle/drink pickle juice to get rid of sore throats. It seems to work, at least a lil bit.
posted by nutmeag on 7-27-2009 at 3:52 pm
eat the kool-aid pickle!!
posted by ee the c on 7-27-2009 at 4:22 pm
I love pickles. LOVE. Here in Italy, people eat pickled onions and bell peppers. They have the little cucumber kind, but Dill doesn’t exist here and Italians don’t like the sweet/sour taste. They just eat them pickled in vinegar. When my mother came to visit me last August I asked her to bring me 4 things: Peanutbutter, my rubber boots (we’re from Oregon…), Beef Jerky, and the biggest jars of sweet and dill pickles she could fit into her suitcase. My husband and his family hated them. I ate both jars worth in a week.
posted by Kate on 7-27-2009 at 4:26 pm
Pickle juice is a great cure for a hangover!
posted by Milena on 7-27-2009 at 4:51 pm
Cleopatra was not known for her beauty…fyi. In fact, she was not considered beautiful at all. Rather, it was her charisma and intelligence that made her so seductive.
posted by Lou on 7-27-2009 at 5:04 pm
Thanks a lot. Now I have to check the fridge for pickles.
posted by Andy on 7-27-2009 at 5:53 pm
So can we finally tell my parents that drinking pickle juice does NOT burn a hole in my stomach???
posted by Gamer18548 on 7-27-2009 at 6:22 pm
My father-in-law makes watermelon-rind pickles. I haven’t had the opportunity to taste them (apparently making them is a big production), but the family raves about them!
posted by Lynley on 7-27-2009 at 7:21 pm
My family loves pickling. My father got the famous pickled egg recipe, and my uncle makes a concoction we call “chow” (which is probably some kind of bastardization of a Polish word)that’s a combination of pickled cabbage, cauliflower, green tomatoes, and onion.
My mouth is watering, haha.
posted by Jo on 7-27-2009 at 7:58 pm
Okay I’m one of the few people who detest pickles – I’ve been know to spit out a burger if I bite into a pickle.
I’m okay removing pickles from food like burgers but if my fries get soggy with pickle juice I won’t touch them. Its amazing how many things have pickles in them – tuna and potato salad in particular. I normally ask for my burgers without pickles but certain fast food joints never can get it right.
I really don’t know why I don’t like them – never have and never will. My house is typically pickle free unless my husband has bought a jar and snuck them into the house without my knowledge.
posted by Beth on 7-27-2009 at 8:37 pm
When I was a kid I absolutely LOVED pickles- in fact my mom’s nick name for me is Pickle
posted by Sarah C on 7-27-2009 at 8:48 pm
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. How many peppers did Peter Piper pick?
I grew up eating pickles, green olives and pickled okra. And you couldn’t have a party without a relish tray. Now I have a pickle shelf in the refrigerator and search all over town for the perfect relish!
posted by gckittehmom on 7-27-2009 at 9:12 pm
i love pickle juice.
when i get the chance, i drink it out of the jar with a straw.
posted by Julia on 7-27-2009 at 9:37 pm
After my Mom had her gallbladder removed, she started getting very regular heartburn. She started eating a pickle a day and never gets it unless she forgets.
posted by Nicole on 7-27-2009 at 10:28 pm
Cannot believe no one has commended Steven on his wonderful alliteration skills.
Steven, you are awesome!
posted by Zelda on 7-27-2009 at 11:19 pm
Thank you Zelda!
posted by Steven on 7-27-2009 at 11:24 pm
When I was a kid we used to go rollerskating at a rink in Yakima, WA. One of the drinks they had was called – Pickle Fizz. The drink consisted of pickle juice and crushed or shaved ice and was extremely popular.
posted by James on 7-27-2009 at 11:49 pm
One of the worst taste experiences is when you think its’ a dill pickle, but bite into it and discover that it’s actually a sweet pickle. I call it “sweet-shock”.
When I’m in charge sweet pickles will be require to be dyed blue. This will make it easy to tell them apart, and solves the “no blue foods” problem.
posted by PartiallyDeflected on 7-27-2009 at 11:53 pm
I was stationed in San Angelo, TX about 20 years ago, and there was a snow cone stand that sold (among others) pickle flavored snow cones. Yup, pretty much shaved ice w/ pickle juice. Nasty.
posted by TBV on 7-28-2009 at 9:46 am
@Beth
Ditto. I nearly gagged reading this article/comments every time someone mentioned drinking pickle juice.
GROSS! :-P
posted by Meri on 7-28-2009 at 9:51 am
Do you guys like cucumber slices soaked in vinegar!? I LOVE THEM. I also love pickles, of course =)
I really dig pickled anything lol…
posted by iamchaossthought on 7-28-2009 at 9:58 am
For gckittehmom, I too, love pickles and relishes and started making my own. Try this one. Mix green and black olives, pickled sweet cauliflower, marinated artichoke hearts, pickled banana peppers. Put in the food processor until finely minced. Makes a wonderful relish and/or sandwich spread.
posted by Ruby T on 7-28-2009 at 10:27 am
I loved pickles – right up until I read the comment about the open vats, insects and bird droppings! Yeesh! Icky!!
posted by Mama9cats on 7-28-2009 at 11:25 am
“So? Some say that cucumbers taste better pickled.” “What?” “HUH?!?”
I prefer my pickles fried.
I am also convinced that the secret ingredient in Texas Roadhouse’s homemade italian dressing is sweet pickle juice. Can anyone verify or debunk my suspicion?
posted by C on 7-28-2009 at 11:39 am
Check out pickle girl’s coverage of pickles in the news, recipes, and interviews will well-known pickle peddlers: http://www.pickle-girl.blogspot.com. Power to the pickle!
posted by Jen Catto on 7-28-2009 at 11:45 am
If you go to the Atlantic City history museum (a small exhibit at the end of the boardwalk) they give you a pickle pin!
posted by Lily on 7-28-2009 at 12:10 pm
Yes, that’s how I eat my cucumbers! In a bowl of vinegar with a dash of salt and pepper. And I LOVE pickles. I can’t get enough…
posted by SailrsGrl on 7-28-2009 at 3:43 pm
C,
Found this recipe for Texas Roadhouse dressing. No pickles though.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_in_Texas_Roadhouse_vinaigrette_dressing
posted by Ross on 7-30-2009 at 2:25 pm
Yep, I love dill pickles and the juice. They may not be as nutritious as raw cukes, especially if you need to watch your sodium, but they’re great for constipation, as is the juice!
posted by I forget on 8-3-2009 at 12:37 am
PartiallyDeflected- that’s the best idea ever!
posted by emmiline on 8-3-2009 at 1:20 am
I have always been in love with pickles – any kind of pickle – which is odd, because until I hit college, I couldn’t stand vinegar. (My mom didn’t believe in sticking a bar of soap in a kid’s mouth – try swishing vinegar straight for 30 seconds) Sad though. My family always used to have the vinegar soaked cukes on the table with dinner. Now that I LIKE them that way, they don’t do that any more :(
I remember my grandmother pickling my grandfather’s homegrown cukes though…oooooh they were the best!
posted by Hastings on 8-3-2009 at 11:26 am
my family loves pickles… my aunt ate so many pickles growing up she became highly allergic to them, breaking out in terrible rashes… she still eats them anyway from time to time… I personally consider a burger with no pickles no burger worth eating.
posted by ac on 8-3-2009 at 3:56 pm
Shannon, Please retract your statement: “In Fiji, guys can’t get a girl without first showing her parents his pickle pits.” That is positively absolutely untrue and as a writer you need to be aware of the fact versus fiction.
posted by Island Girl on 8-8-2009 at 8:04 pm
Hate pickles. Love the author.
posted by Dad on 8-11-2009 at 7:18 am