Pickles

when my American friend comes over to the house I will let her have 1 pickle.

LOL Step back from the pickle jar, with your hands where I can see them! LOL

I ate the last pickle in my jar of Mezzetta about an hour ago. I can still "sort of" taste how wonderful it was. But I'm getting a bit depressed. It was my very last pickle and now there's just a damn big empty jar. 

Hey if you like Mezzetta's stuff my local health food store sells them.....not the pickles but the pickled cherry peppers and the jalepano/carrot/onion mix thing.

I can ship to you if you like!

My wife and I may have solved the great pickle conundrum.

My mate in California sent over a big jar of Vlasic zesty garlic dills -- needless to say, they didn't last too long.

But we saved the brine and seasoning -- there was still more than half a jar of that.

I was able to find some big crunchy pickles at the local Polish shop, (making sure to buy the ones that have no sugar, a very plain mixture!). We drained this jar and poured in the Vlasic seasoned brine. In three days -- voila, great pickles!

We got some more Polish pickles last week and did it again, and they came out even better! Not sure how many times you can do it though before you have to break down and buy another jar of the American ones.

FYI the Polish pickles were only £1.29 and are the brand is called Provitus (kwaszone orgorki kujawskie). The only ingredients are cucumbers, water, salt and natural spices, so they really absorbed the Vlasic brine flavor beautifully! They should be easy to find at any Polish shop in the UK.

Hope this helps anyone ...

I've ordered pickles from the same company balmerhon did. www.skyco.uk.com
Even though they're grossly overpriced, it's worth it if you're a true pickle lover (I am). They also sell Triskets, which I've missed, especially with cheese.

I was able to find some big crunchy pickles at the local Polish shop, (making sure to buy the ones that have no sugar, a very plain mixture!).

I saw a lot of different kinds of pickles at Lidl the other day and wonder if they might stock the Polish ones you're talking about. I really really really don't like dill pickles, but spending time on UKY has made me very aware of how much some people really do miss them! Next time I'm at Lidl, I'll have a look at the ingredients on the jar.

I'll save you the bother, all the ones I've seen at Lidl have sugar. 

Liz, that seems to be the problem here. All the pickles are sweetened. In the States, it's a given that they haven't been sweetened, unless the label on the jar says so.

I'll save you the bother, all the ones I've seen at Lidl have sugar. 

Awwww. They looked right, if that makes sense.  

On a funny note, my husband and I once bought a small carry-on bag with us from the states. We stashed a lot of American food in it. After all the jostling around, and our flight was delayed, pickle juice started leaking from the bag. We just walked around until it was all gone and unnoticeable, and managed to get through customs just fine.

Awwww. They looked right, if that makes sense. 

I know that's what I thought too til I read all the labels, very disappointing. It's probably the one thing at Lidl that isn't up to scratch!

Lidl is having them on sale next week, you get a whole case of Polish pickles for a ridiculous price. It's in their circular.

The regular supermarkets around here have started to stock tinned & bottled Polish foods, in the 'International Foods' aisle.  So I was thinking of this (pickles) awhile back & that the Polish ones would probably work.  I haven't tried them because I'm not all that bothered about pickles, but I thought someone might find the info useful.

The plain Polish ones I got I just found in the Polish food section of our local Co-Op. They are very big and crunchy. Most of the Polish pickles will have sugar    though.

I suppose if you added your own garlic, dill and vinegar to the jar you could try to make them taste right. But my darling wife tried that once and they just didn't quite come out right.

After tasting the Vlasic, Heinz and Mezzetta pickles, now she knows the diff!

Most of the Polish pickles will have sugar    though.

Oh see now I prefer sweet-ish pickles (bread & butter pickles - drool...) so I would probably like them.  My favorites over here are the baby gherkins & the cornichons, in a bit of sweet vinegar.

For those who like sour pickles, also don't forget Mount Olive pickles. I love Vlasic, etc., but Mount Olives aren't overseasoned.