Crispy, Salty, Tangy—Homemade Fried Pickles Are So Satisfying (2024)

FAQs

How unhealthy is fried pickles? ›

While pickles are a high-sodium food item, the deep-fried pickle is significantly higher. One deep-fried pickle spear contains 1,220 milligrams of sodium, versus 210 milligrams in a regular spear. One deep-fried pickle gives you more than half of the daily recommended intake, which is 2,300 milligrams a day.

Using an air fryer. To reheat fried pickles in the air fryer, begin by preheating the gadget to approximately 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Once it's heated, spread your pickles in a single layer in the fryer basket without overcrowding. Ensuring each pickle has enough room is crucial for even reheating.

So the fix for overly salty pickles? Drain off half to three-quarters of your brine (depending on how salty your pickles are) and replace it with fresh water. At least some of the salt that the pickles sucked up earlier will flow right back out after a few hours' soak.

Depending upon the quality of the cucumbers, recipe, and pickle maker, firming agents may or may not be part of the process. Firming agents include alum, food grade lime (calcium hydroxide), grape leaves, or calcium chloride (Ball Pickle Crisp® or Mrs. Wages Xtra-Crunch®).

If the pickles are soft, they are spoiled from the yeast fermentation. Don't use them. Using too weak a salt brine or vinegar solution may cause soft or slippery pickles, as can using moldy garlic or storing the pickles at too warm a temperature.

If you're not getting enough salt in your diet, or if you've depleted your sodium levels, you might experience intense cravings for pickles and other high-sodium foods. But don't go overboard: on average, 1 dill pickle contains about 15% of your recommended daily sodium intake!

Eating too much sodium can cause your kidneys and liver to work harder. Also, the high blood pressure that often follows diets high in sodium puts even more stress on these organs. As a result, eating too many pickles may be risky for anyone with liver disease or kidney conditions.

The taste of the fried pickles also depends on the oil used for frying. The oil that can be used is vegetable, corn, peanut, safflower, canola or olive. Each of the oils has a different flavor and taste and hence it is a very important decision which oil to use. Fried pickles are thus a delight to eat.

Pickles live in liquid and they need to be very dry before frying if you want the breading to stick well. Keep the oil hot. These fry very fast and if you don't have your oil hot enough, they will soak up some oil and won't get nice and crispy. Give your oil time to reheat between fry batches.

It's important to dry food before applying the breading because a high moisture content prevents dry ingredients from correctly reacting with hot oil. If improperly prepared, the batter on your pickles will soak up all that grease instead of frying to perfection.

What is fried pickle batter made of? ›

Coat the pickles in 1/2 cup flour, shaking off any excess. In a medium bowl, mix together the remaining cup of flour, beer, salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. Coat each pickle slice in batter, letting the excess batter drip back into the bowl.

Pickles tend to be high in sodium, which can also exacerbate bloating. "Sodium helps the body retain water, so consuming too much salt can lead to extra fluid buildup. The result is swelling, typically in the face, hands, feet and ankles," explains food, fitness and nutrition consultant Heather Mangieri, RDN, LDN.

Soaking: Place the pickles in a bowl of cold water and let them soak for about 30 minutes. This will help draw out some of the saltiness.

Vinegar works to balance the hardness of the salt. You can balance out the excess salt by adding homemade sugarcane vinegar to it. For some pickles, you can equalise the amount of salt increased by adding lemon juice. Because lemon juice is sour, and mixing something sour in any food can decrease the excess saltiness.

Mineral Rich Salt

Salt hardens the pectins in vegetables and this is what makes them crisp. Without enough salt, your vegetables, and especially pickles, will be soft and mushy. Pickles need more salt than my other cultured vegetables to keep them crisper.

To begin, choose the right cucumbers. Most varieties will work, but the small, firm ones are best. Kirby pickles are ideal — they have a thick skin that stands up to pickling liquid and naturally have a great crunch.

These pickles' texture also really stands out: Cleveland Kitchen's spears have a nice crunch and snap to them. Out of all the store-bought pickles we've ever tried, Cleveland Kitchen's are some of the best. If you haven't scored a jar of these yet, it's time to see what you've been missing out on.

For a quick and easy way to help ensure crisp pickles: soak cucumbers in ice water for 4 to 5 hours before pickling. This is a safer method for making crisp pickles. Using lime, or calcium hydroxide, in solution for soaking cucumbers changes the amount of acid in the cucumber tissue.