Well hot dilly dang! There you
are! Thanks for clicking by today. Hope everything is ticking along for
you... especially your ticker. Need a ticker boost? Try an espresso to kick
yourself into high gear! Add a virtual
doughnut or megamuffin into the mix and you’ll be all set. Say...do you like
pickles? Me? I love them...especially dills! And speaking of dill pickles, here
are a whole slew of things you can use pickle juice for... Thanks to Deirdre
Taylor for the following pickle-vital information...we are first cousins once removed if I have my family genealogy
correct.
Post-Workout Drink:
Forget coconut water. Athletes swear by pickle juice's scientifically proven benefits to exercise recovery. In one 2010 study, pickle juice halted post-workout muscle cramps in 85 seconds. That, plus its electrolyte-restoring powers has even yielded Pickle Juice Sport - a dill-flavoured sports drink. But really, most athletes stick to good old Vlasic (or Straub’s if you’re a Montrealer)!
PMS Remedy:
For those same reasons, pickle juice is widely used as a cure for menstrual cramps. It may also prevent you from eating four bags of potato chips in one day. Not that we ever did that. That was a friend.
Potato Pick-Me-Up:
Add a heavy splash of pickle juice to a pot of simple boiled potatoes for a fantastic side dish. The flavours absorb so perfectly you won't want to add salt, butter, sour cream, or anything to these taters once you're done. Making potato salad? Skip the mayo, and toss with veggies and pickle juice for a much healthier (and more flavourful) version.
Pickleback Shot:
Odds are you've seen this cocktail on a bar menu sometime in the last couple years (lore has it they were first sold out of a London food truck in 2011). Perhaps you scoffed or called it a fad, but the truth is bartenders claim this to be the perfect complement to whiskey, instantly soothing the taste buds and aftershock of a rough liquor. Order one, and you will order five. For bonus points, follow that up with a Pickletini.
Hangover Cure:
If you can stomach it on a hangover tummy, pickle juice is a known folk remedy that actually works. It replenishes your depleted sodium levels and helps to assist in rehydration. In many countries, people even take a shot of pickle juice before going out to help prevent dehydration in the first place.
Vinegar Replacement:
Pickle juice works in place of vinegar in salad dressing, soups, or virtually any recipe. It is essentially vinegar on steroids.
Heartburn Cure:
Along with its flavour-boosting benefits, pickle juice seems to have the same health effects as straight-up vinegar. Particularly effective as a heartburn soother, pickle juice may also help to avoid blood-sugar spikes if taken with a meal.
Bloody Mary Booster:
On the not-as-healthy-but-just-as
Cleaning Agent:
Food industry insiders have been using pickle juice to clean blackened copper pans for years. It also works well as a grill cleaner, making those charred, crusted-on bits much easier to scrape off.
Dill Pickle Bread:
Make this. Make it now. Recipe at the end of this post!*
Pickle Popsicles:
True, you can buy these on pickleaddicts.com (actual, real thing), but you can also just pour some of this glorious nectar into pop molds, paper cups, or ice-cube trays and make your own savory summer snack.
Re-Pickler:
Or maybe you just want some more pickles? Empty your vegetable drawer and throw some onions, carrots, peppers, whatever, into the jar of leftover pickle juice. Let them sit for a few days and BOOM: new pickles!
Meat Tenderizer & Marinade:
Pickle juice has amazing meat-tenderizing abilities and, as a marinade, will add a ton of flavour to your meats, without the extra calories in heavy sauces or marinades. It works exceptionally well on chicken - some claim a skinless breast soaked overnight in pickle juice will taste like fried chicken when cooked, and we say that is voodoo but we're okay with it. Try it on cuts of pork and beef, too.
Fish Poacher:
There is very little in this world that sounds more healthy-boring than poached fish. But, add your pickle juice to the poaching water and you will never look back.
Weed Killer:
The high vinegar and salt content of pickle juice has made it a longtime favourite with gardeners. Dump it on dandelions, thistle, and virtually all common weeds that crop up around your home. Bonus, it's pet-friendly and you probably already have it in your fridge!
Recipe Add-On:
We lost track of all the things you can add pickle juice to, but some favorites include: BBQ sauce, hummus, chicken salad, mac 'n' cheese, gazpacho, deviled eggs, vinaigrette, borscht, beet salad, salsa, bean dip, and meatloaf.
Hiccup Stopper:
We've found little scientific evidence backing up this claim (and, frankly, we're glad the scientists are working on other things), but many, many people claim that the number-one cure for hiccups is a small glass of pickle juice. Given how well this stuff works on everything else in the world, we believe it.
Forget coconut water. Athletes swear by pickle juice's scientifically proven benefits to exercise recovery. In one 2010 study, pickle juice halted post-workout muscle cramps in 85 seconds. That, plus its electrolyte-restoring powers has even yielded Pickle Juice Sport - a dill-flavoured sports drink. But really, most athletes stick to good old Vlasic (or Straub’s if you’re a Montrealer)!
PMS Remedy:
For those same reasons, pickle juice is widely used as a cure for menstrual cramps. It may also prevent you from eating four bags of potato chips in one day. Not that we ever did that. That was a friend.
Potato Pick-Me-Up:
Add a heavy splash of pickle juice to a pot of simple boiled potatoes for a fantastic side dish. The flavours absorb so perfectly you won't want to add salt, butter, sour cream, or anything to these taters once you're done. Making potato salad? Skip the mayo, and toss with veggies and pickle juice for a much healthier (and more flavourful) version.
Pickleback Shot:
Odds are you've seen this cocktail on a bar menu sometime in the last couple years (lore has it they were first sold out of a London food truck in 2011). Perhaps you scoffed or called it a fad, but the truth is bartenders claim this to be the perfect complement to whiskey, instantly soothing the taste buds and aftershock of a rough liquor. Order one, and you will order five. For bonus points, follow that up with a Pickletini.
Hangover Cure:
If you can stomach it on a hangover tummy, pickle juice is a known folk remedy that actually works. It replenishes your depleted sodium levels and helps to assist in rehydration. In many countries, people even take a shot of pickle juice before going out to help prevent dehydration in the first place.
Vinegar Replacement:
Pickle juice works in place of vinegar in salad dressing, soups, or virtually any recipe. It is essentially vinegar on steroids.
Heartburn Cure:
Along with its flavour-boosting benefits, pickle juice seems to have the same health effects as straight-up vinegar. Particularly effective as a heartburn soother, pickle juice may also help to avoid blood-sugar spikes if taken with a meal.
Bloody Mary Booster:
On the not-as-healthy-but-just-as
Cleaning Agent:
Food industry insiders have been using pickle juice to clean blackened copper pans for years. It also works well as a grill cleaner, making those charred, crusted-on bits much easier to scrape off.
Dill Pickle Bread:
Make this. Make it now. Recipe at the end of this post!*
Pickle Popsicles:
True, you can buy these on pickleaddicts.com (actual, real thing), but you can also just pour some of this glorious nectar into pop molds, paper cups, or ice-cube trays and make your own savory summer snack.
Re-Pickler:
Or maybe you just want some more pickles? Empty your vegetable drawer and throw some onions, carrots, peppers, whatever, into the jar of leftover pickle juice. Let them sit for a few days and BOOM: new pickles!
Meat Tenderizer & Marinade:
Pickle juice has amazing meat-tenderizing abilities and, as a marinade, will add a ton of flavour to your meats, without the extra calories in heavy sauces or marinades. It works exceptionally well on chicken - some claim a skinless breast soaked overnight in pickle juice will taste like fried chicken when cooked, and we say that is voodoo but we're okay with it. Try it on cuts of pork and beef, too.
Fish Poacher:
There is very little in this world that sounds more healthy-boring than poached fish. But, add your pickle juice to the poaching water and you will never look back.
Weed Killer:
The high vinegar and salt content of pickle juice has made it a longtime favourite with gardeners. Dump it on dandelions, thistle, and virtually all common weeds that crop up around your home. Bonus, it's pet-friendly and you probably already have it in your fridge!
Recipe Add-On:
We lost track of all the things you can add pickle juice to, but some favorites include: BBQ sauce, hummus, chicken salad, mac 'n' cheese, gazpacho, deviled eggs, vinaigrette, borscht, beet salad, salsa, bean dip, and meatloaf.
Hiccup Stopper:
We've found little scientific evidence backing up this claim (and, frankly, we're glad the scientists are working on other things), but many, many people claim that the number-one cure for hiccups is a small glass of pickle juice. Given how well this stuff works on everything else in the world, we believe it.
Wowzie! Does everything but the
dishes, eh! Might even work on them come to think of it. As a matter of fact,
we do have a couple jars of pickles in the fridge. I’ll definitely be trying
some of the above and, if you do, please let me know what you think so I can
share your thoughts with our millions (I wish) of other readers out there!
See ya, eh!
Bob
*Dill Pickle Bread
Recipe:Yields: 1 large loaf
Cook time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
1 cup lukewarm dill pickle juice (110 degrees F.)*
1 large dill pickle, finely chopped
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon dried dill weed
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups bread flour or unbleached all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons instant active dry yeast
* NOTE: Can use 1/2 cup dill pickle juice and 1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees F.)
Preparation:
Place all ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order suggested by the manufacturer. Select dough setting and press start. Depending on how big your pickle is and how much juice is in the pickle, (Excuse me but you may want to rephrase that!) you might need to add additional flour. Check the dough (don't be afraid to open the lid). It should form a nice elastic ball. If you think the dough is too moist, add additional flour (a tablespoon at a time). The same is true if the dough is looking dry and gnarly. Add warm water (a tablespoon at a time).
When dough cycle has finished, remove dough from pan and turn out onto a lightly oiled surface. Form dough into an oval, cover and let rest for 10 minutes.
After resting, turn dough bottom side up and press to flatten. Fold dough into an envelope by folding the top 1/3 of the way to the bottom. Then fold the bottom a 1/3 of the way over the top. Then press dough with the palm of your hand to make an indentation down the center of the dough and fold the top completely to the bottom, sealing the seam with the palm of your hand.
Place on a baking pan dusted with cornmeal or covered with a Silicone Baking Mat; cover and place in a warm spot to rise for approximately 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Oven Rising: Sometimes I use my oven for the rising. Turn the oven on for a minute or so, then turn it off again. This will warm the oven and make it a great environment for rising bread. If you can't comfortably press your hand against the inside of the oven door, the oven is too hot. Let it stand open to cool a bit.
Cool or Refrigerator Rise: If I don't have the time to wait for the rise to finish or I know that I will be interrupted before the completed rise, I do a cool rise. A cool rise is when the dough is place in the refrigerator and left to rise slowly over night approximately 8 to 12 hours. I usually do this after the first rise and the dough has been shaped into a loaf.
After dough has risen, slash the bread with a very sharp knife making three 1/2-inch deep diagonal slashes. Brush the top of the bread with cold water and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until nicely browned.
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