For the Rugrats character, see Dil Pickles. This section does not cite pickled apple cucumbers sources.
Brined pickles are prepared using the traditional process of natural fermentation in a brine which makes them grow sour. Vinegar is not needed in the brine of naturally fermented pickled cucumbers. The fermentation process is dependent on the Lactobacillus bacteria that naturally occur on the skin of a growing cucumber. These may be removed during commercial harvesting and packing processes. Typically, small cucumbers are placed in a glass or ceramic vessel or a wooden barrel, together with a variety of spices.
Since brined pickles are produced without vinegar, a film of bacteria forms on top of the brine. This does not indicate that the pickles have spoiled, and the film may simply be removed. They do not, however, keep as long as cucumbers pickled with vinegar and usually must be refrigerated. Some commercial manufacturers add vinegar as a preservative. Bread-and-butter pickles are a marinated variety of pickled cucumber in a solution of vinegar, sugar, and spices. They may simply be chilled as refrigerator pickles or canned.
Their name and their broad popularity in the United States are attributed to Omar and Cora Fanning, who were Illinois cucumber farmers that started selling sweet and sour pickles in the 1920s. Cornichons are tart French pickles made from gherkins pickled in vinegar and tarragon. They traditionally accompany pâtés and cold cuts. The term “gherkin” is also used in the name West Indian gherkin for Cucumis anguria, a closely related species.
West Indian gherkins are also sometimes used as pickles. A “kosher” dill pickle is not necessarily kosher in the sense that it has been prepared in accordance with Jewish dietary law. Rather, it is a pickle made in the traditional manner of Jewish New York City pickle makers, with generous addition of garlic and dill to a natural salt brine. In New York terminology, a “full-sour” kosher dill is one that has fully fermented, while a “half-sour”, given a shorter stay in the brine, is still crisp and bright green.
Elsewhere, these pickles may sometimes be termed “old” and “new” dills. New York City since at least 1899. Traditionally, pickles were preserved in wooden barrels, but are now sold in glass jars. The lime is then rinsed off the pickles. The crisping effect of lime is caused by its calcium content. A safer and more convenient alternative is calcium chloride, which is neutral and requires no rinsing.