National Pickle Month

National Pickle Month celebrates pickles throughout July, including familiar varieties such as dill pickles and gherkins. A pickle is a cucumber—or, more broadly, another vegetable—that has been preserved in brine, vinegar, or another solution, sometimes through fermentation.

Pickling was developed as a way to make perishable foods available beyond their growing season. Cucumbers were probably first pickled about 4,400 years ago in Mesopotamia, and the practice was also known in ancient Greece. Pickled cucumbers later became popular in the United States through the influence of immigrants from central and eastern Europe.

Dill pickles are known for their tart, tangy flavor, while bread-and-butter pickles are sweeter. Cucumbers are not the only vegetables that can be pickled: okra, asparagus, beets, peppers, and squash-based chow chow are among the other possibilities. Polish-style pickled cucumbers are naturally fermented in salty brine without vinegar, while Swedish pressgurka is made from salted, pressed cucumber slices in a sour-sweet brine.

How to Observe National Pickle Month

Celebrate by enjoying your favorite pickles, comparing dill and bread-and-butter varieties, or trying a less familiar pickled vegetable. You can also make pickles at home; Have A Plant discusses a simple bread-and-butter pickle recipe. Learn about pickling’s long history, or explore the differences between vinegar pickles and naturally fermented varieties.

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