Food of the week: Pickles

It's embarassing to admit how old I was when I realized that a pickle was really a cucumber. So, I won't tell you. It's funny that we do not call them pickled cucumbers. Think about it, when we pickle anything else, peppers for instance, we call them pickled peppers. What's that about? Pickling is an action, not the food itself. Maybe there was a universal agreement that pickled cucumbers were the best tasting pickled anything and therefore got to claim the title of pickle.


What is pickling exactly? The fermentation caused by soaking food in vinegar or salt brine kills with a vengeance the bad bacteria that causes food to go bad!


Good examples of pickled foods: Pickles, Peppers, Cauliflower
Bad examples of pickled foods: Sauerkraut, Eggs
Haven't tried: Kim chi


There's lots of things to say about pickled foods. I don't have all day so I'm just going to focus on pickles themselves. Let's take a looksy-loo at pickles.








Pickles come in many varieties, Dill, Kosher, Bread and Butter, Gherkin. The difference is the way they are fermented, specifically what condiment, herbs and spices they are fermented in.


Benefits:

• Low in calories and fat. But do keep in mind that most of us do not eat pickles alone.
  

Drawbacks:

• High in sodium and sugar.
  

Ways to eat pickles:

• Although there are recommended uses for each type of pickle, really they all taste good cut up on a sandwich or burger.
  
• Beer battered pickles! It may not sound appetizing, but they're so good, especially dipped in some ranch dressing. Yeah, that's healthy.
  

Little known facts:

• September 14 was International Pickle Day. Ah man, I missed it!
• Should kids eat pickles? There's no definitive judgement (at least that I could find) that says pickles are good or bad for children. The consensus seems to be that they're not bad (low in calories and fat) but don't really have much nutritional value either.