While I was away recently, I left a food experiment in my refrigerator. No, not your usual what-molded-while-I-was-away experiment. I read an article in the New York Times about a food craze that’s getting the kids down South and in other locations excited – Kool-Aid pickles! - so gave it a go. Apparently, Mom and Pop owned convenience stores and neighborhood entrepreneurs are selling dill pickles pickled once more in Kool-Aid. It sounds gross, but Kool-Aid pickles can’t be any worse than the pink pickled pig’s feet and pink pickled eggs in those large plastic jars sitting by the register at convenience stores that we used to dare each other to eat when I was young. (No one dared touch the pig’s feet, but a few brave souls tried the pickled eggs. No one went back for seconds.)
I made a double strength batch of cherry (red) and tropical punch (blue) Kool-Aid. I drained the dill pickles, and poked the pickles with a fork about 15 times to let the Kool-Aid seep into the pickle. I then left the pickles swimming in the double strength Kool-Aid in my refrigerator for a little over a week.
When I returned home from my trip, I peeked in on the little cukes. They were not evenly dyed by the Kool-Aid, but it was time for the moment of truth. Were these kids on to something? Or were they taste bud-challenged?
I bit into a cherry Kool-Aid pickle first. Not horrible. It tasted like cherry Kool-Aid and a dill pickle. (Sorry, there’s just no other way to describe it.) The second and third bites, though, made me a little nauseous. Oh, this is so wrong! Pregnant women couldn’t even crave something like this.
Next up were the tropical punch pickles. These I liked better. The tropical punch Kool-Aid complimented the dill pickle better than the cherry Kool-Aid. (Never thought I'd say that sentence.) The tropical punch pickles tasted more like a pickle than Kool-Aid, which is why I could actually finish a blue pickle without feeling ill.
Conclusion – These kids is Ka-ray-zee! Or maybe I fugged up the experiment somehow. I doubt it.
12 comments:
I saw the article in the NY Times and was intrigued. So Kool that you made these.
You are amazing. And nuts.
Overall, I am in awe!
Oh wow, that's one very brave experiment! i love pickles but i don't know if i'd love 'em in living colour and flavour...
Iread that article, too. I was interested, but I'm glad you tried it first, so I don't have to.
Ahhh...wow, cool. It's great you tried it, because now I can see the results without actually trying myself ;-) Thanks!
Ok, never heard of these things. Interesting.
You are crazy :)
-Crystal
This is the second blog this week that I saw these on and, well. I think they still look gross and your opinion of the cheery one kind of confirmed that for me. I hate sweet pickles so I think that's what turns me off about these. Why ruin a deliciously sour dill pickle by soaking it in artifically flavored sugar water???
Fascinating post... thanks for pioneering a place I would not want to go!
Cheryl (yes, that Cheryl)
Cheryl - Hey, thanks for stopping by. It was nice meeting you out in KS.
If you look at the New York times article, the person who gives the recipe, mentions cutting them in half and mentions dropping in like a pound of sugar in addition to the double strength kool-aid. It may be why it didn't taste full on as described.
Neal - A pound of sugar is about right for double-strength Kool-Aid, so I think I got the sugar strength about right. Either way, it's unique, but not fabulous!
I tried the cherry ones while at a High School Football game in Greenville Mississippi. Liked them so much I am gonna try to make them at home.
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