It’s National Pickle Day, a day to celebrate this unique and versatile food.
You can eat them on their own, or make them into a dip, or a potato salad, or put them on a burger, or there’s fried dill pickles.
Someone made a peanut butter pickle sandwich, and there’s also a recipe for boozy pickles.
The word “pickle” is as multi-use as the food it describes; just know that a lot of the uses of the word aren’t food-related.
That’s because the word “pickle” comes along well before it became associated with cucumbers that have been preserved in brine.
Its earliest known use was around the year 1400, when it meant “spiced sauce served with meat or fowl.”
After that, it referred to the liquid in which you preserved foods.
It wasn’t long before people referred to the process of putting their produce in the pickle as pickling, and the pickled items themselves as pickles.
But along the way, the word “pickle” picked up these other meanings that a) don’t always relate to food and b) don’t always have clear origins.
Like the phrase “in a pickle,” which isn’t a comparison to being inside the middle of a briny cucumber.
At some point people began using the phrase to describe having a conundrum, or being in a difficult position.
William Shakespeare uses the phrase in The Tempest (though by some accounts this is also a reference to being drunk).
According to HowStuffWorks, “pickle” can refer in the UK to what Americans call relish, so maybe being in a pickle is like being all chopped up?
Baseball players can get caught in a pickle if they’re in a rundown; that’s definitely not a food reference.
Then there’s pickleball, which is either a reference to a boating term or a dog named Pickles.
Finally, the Dutch of the late 1700s used “pickle” to refer to a young troublemaker… I guess because he was infused with mischief?
Meanwhile, at the Sunglow Restaurant and Motel in Bicknell, Utah, you can order pickle pie.
It’s almost like a custard pie, except there’s tangy dill pickle in there as well.
And they put whipped cream on top, so it’s sweet and savory and tart all at the same time.
Why Do We Say We’re ‘In a Pickle’? (HowStuffWorks)
Utah Enjoys Its Pickles In A Sweet And Savory Slice Of Pie (Chowhound)
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