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A pickled cucumber – commonly known as a pickle in the United States and Canada and a gherkin ( ) in Britain, Ireland, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand – is a usually small or miniature cucumber that has been Pickling in a brine, vinegar, or other solution and left to ferment. The fermentation process is executed either by immersing the cucumbers in an acidic solution or through souring by lacto-fermentation. Pickled cucumbers are often part of mixed pickles.
According to the New York Food Museum, archaeologists believe ancient Mesopotamians pickled food as far back as 2400 B.C. while, centuries later, cucumbers native to India were being pickled in the Tigris Valley. Ancient sources and historians have documented awareness around the nutritional benefits of pickles thousands of years ago as well as the perceived beauty benefits of pickles— Queen Cleopatra of Egypt credited the pickles in her diet with contributing to her health and legendary beauty.
During World War II, the U.S. government recognized the importance of pickles in soldiers' diets and allocated 40% of the nation's pickle production to the armed forces.
The fermentation process depends on the Lactobacillus bacteria that naturally occur on the skin of a growing cucumber. These may be removed during commercial harvesting and packing processes. Bacteria cultures can be reintroduced to the vegetables by adding already fermented foods such as yogurt or other fermented milk products, pieces of sourdough bread, or mixed pickles such as sauerkraut.
Typically, small cucumbers are placed in a glass or ceramic vessel or a wooden barrel, together with various spices. Among those traditionally used in many recipes are garlic, horseradish, the whole dill stems with umbels and green seeds, white Mustard seed seeds, grape, oak, cherry, blackcurrant and bay laurel leaves, dried allspice fruits, and—most importantly—salt. The container is then filled with cooled, boiled water and kept under a non-airtight cover (often cloth tied on with string or a rubber band) for several weeks, depending on taste and external temperature. Traditionally, stones (also sterilized by boiling) are placed on top of the cucumbers to keep them under the water. The cucumber's sourness depends on the amount of salt added (saltier cucumbers tend to be sourer).
Since brined pickles are produced without vinegar, a film of bacteria forms on top of the brine. This does not indicate that the pickles have spoiled, and the film may be removed. They do not keep as long as cucumbers that are pickled with vinegar and usually must be refrigerated. Some commercial manufacturers add vinegar as a preservative.
Cornichons, or baby pickles, are tart French cuisine pickles made from gherkins pickled in vinegar and tarragon. They traditionally accompany pâtés and cold cuts. Sweet gherkins, which contain sugar in the pickling brine, are also a popular variety.
The term gherkin is also used in the name West Indian gherkin for Cucumis anguria, a closely related species. West Indian gherkins are also sometimes used as pickles.
In New York terminology, a "full-sour" kosher dill is fully fermented, while a "half-sour", given a shorter stay in the brine, is still crisp and bright green.
Dill pickles, whether or not described as "kosher", have been served in New York City since at least 1899.
Traditionally, pickles were preserved in wooden barrels but are now sold in glass jars. A cucumber only pickled for a few days is different in taste (less sour) than one pickled for a longer time and is called ogórek małosolny, which means "low-salt cucumber". This distinction is similar to the one between half- and full-sour types of kosher dills (see above).
Another kind of pickled cucumber popular in Poland is ogórek konserwowy/korniszon ("preserved cucumber"), which is rather sweet and vinegary in taste due to the different composition of the preserving solution.
The crisping effect of lime is caused by its calcium content. A safer and more convenient alternative is calcium chloride, which is neutral and requires no rinsing.
Sweet pickled cucumbers, including bread-and-butter pickles, are higher in calories due to their sugar content; a similar portion may contain . Sweet pickled cucumbers also tend to contain significantly less sodium than sour pickles.
Pickles are being researched for their ability to act as vegetables with high probiotic content. Probiotics are typically associated with dairy products, but lactobacilli species such as L. plantarum and L. brevis has been shown to add to the nutritional value of pickles.
In the United States, pickles are often served as a side dish accompanying meals. This usually takes the form of a "pickle spear", a pickled cucumber cut lengthwise into quarters or sixths. Pickles may be used as a condiment on a hamburger or other sandwich (usually in slice form) or a sausage or hot dog in chopped form as pickle relish.
Soured cucumbers are commonly used in various dishes—for example, pickle-stuffed meatloaf, potato salad, or chicken salad—or consumed alone as an appetizer.
Pickles are sometimes served alone as festival foods, often on a stick. This is also done in Japan, where it is referred to as ippon-tsuke.
Dill pickles can be Frying, typically Deep-frying with a breading or batter surrounding the spear or slice. This is a popular dish in the southern US and a rising trend elsewhere in the US.
In Russia and Ukraine, pickles are used in rassolnik: a traditional soup made from pickled cucumbers, pearl barley, pork or beef kidneys, and various herbs. The dish is known to have existed as far back as the 15th century when it was called kalya.
In southern England, large gherkins pickled in vinegar are served as an accompaniment to fish and chips and are sold from big jars on the counter at a fish and chip shop, along with . In the Cockney dialect of London, this type of gherkin is called a "wally".
The term traditionally used in British English to refer to a pickled cucumber, gherkin, is also of Dutch language origin, derived from the word gurken or augurken, meaning cucumber.
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