Pickled cucumber

Pickled Cucumber

The Pickled Cucumber also known as a pickle in the United States and Canada, or gherkin in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, is a cucumber that has been pickled in a brine, vinegar, or other solution and left to ferment for a period of time, by either immersing the cucumbers in an acidic solution or through souring by lacto-fermentation.

Etymology

The term pickle is derived from the Dutch word pekel, meaning brine. In the U.S. and Canada, the word pickle alone refers to a pickled cucumber (other types of pickles will be described as "pickled onion," "pickled beets," etc.). In the UK, pickle generally refers to ploughman's pickle made from various vegetables, such as Branston pickle, traditionally served with a ploughman's lunch.

Polish Pickled Cucumber

In Poland, pickled cucumbers are a staple part of the diet, and are used in a variety of dishes. These are made out of small cucumbers, that are first washed and then put in a glass or ceramic vessel or a wooden barrel, together with dill, garlic, horseradish, and white mustard seeds. The cucumbers are then covered with boiled water and kept under a non-airtight cover 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 more salt is added the more sour the cucumbers become. Since they are produced without vinegar, a film of bacteria forms on the top, but this does not produce a health risk.

See Also

• Cucumber
• Brine
• Vinegar
• Fermentation (food)
• Lacto-fermentation
• Dill
• Garlic
• Horseradish
• White mustard
• Branston Pickle
• Ploughman's lunch

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