Pickles Worth Relishing In

My pickle set-up.

          Being known as "the pickle girl" is something I take pride in. I can finish any sized pickle jars within days and have even gotten a few jars for my birthday. Since I have such an obsession with the vegetable, I decided to taste test three different brands of dill pickles to discover how pickle production companies try to best their competitors.

           I judged the pickles on appearance, taste, and texture and since I'm impartial to brands I didn't have a favorite since as long as it's a pickle, I'll eat it.

           The first brand I tried was Best Maid whose pickle slices were about the size of a half dollar coin. Its tinted green peel blended nicely on the inside to a shade of chartreuse. When I would bite into it the pickle had a constant solid crunch that was similar to that of snapping small celery sticks. While the pickle was sour, the juices felt as though they were gliding around my taste buds which made it more flavorful. Once the aftertaste settled in it left a strong, but not overwhelmingly sour taste that made me hungry for more.

  My next type to try was Walmart's Great Value which, compared to the others, had wide slices that were twice the size of Best Maid's. I was a bit taken back by the outer skin since it was a light green speckled with pale white dots with a yellow-green inside that made it look like it wasn't fresh. When I bit into the pickle, it was soft. Too soft. With one bite, it fell apart in my mouth. I was then hit with a bitter punch of sour that made me pucker in disgust. I actually had to drink some water to mellow out my taste buds which is rare for an experienced pickle devourer. 

          Since the first two variety of pickles I purchased could be found at either HEB or Walmart, I tried Breckenridge Farms, the brand sold by all U.S Dollar Stores. This pickle, in comparison to the others, looked awkward. The peel was so dark, it looked black and the quarter sized wedges of pickle chips were about as thick as a pinkie finger. What was even more odd was that within the inner pickle, the rim was light lime with the center being darker than the edge. When I bit into it, I expected it would be hard but it was instead, crisp. However, its overall taste was a weak, watered down sour that left a queasy aftertaste.

My kitty Gingy was also mesmerized by the Best Maid girl known as Smiley.

          Best Maid was the only brand that I would buy again. It had the perfect look, a moderate amount of sour and the ideal strong crunch that pickles are supposed to have. My least liked type was the Great Value pickles since they looked as though they hadn't seen sunlight in months. Instead of a chewy bite, these pickles were like grapes and were just too bitter to even enjoy. Breckenridge Farm was also a major disappointment since although they had a texture worth gnawing on, its lack of flavorful taste and discoloration made it flop.