Latvian-style Pickles from Imants Minka

 

[Yes, I've not reviewed anything in a couple of years.  I've intended to, but never got around to it, until....]

I went to Kalamazoo for the Kalamazoo Latvian Association's annual Christmas Bazaar, where all things Latvian are available to look, touch and taste. Some of the items were only available via pre-order, but many others had tables setup as vendors.  I was there as a helper for the Czechbox Bakery, which is my wife's cottage-food bakery.  If you haven't seen or tasted authentic Latvian fare, this is the place to be in southwestern Michigan!

My Dad's Latvian Style Dill Pickles with Zing are true Latvian style pickles.  Hand-crafted by Imants Minka from a recipe his father started, these are as close to the "real thing" without stepping into the Fermentation barn in the Riga Central Market in Latvia (and if you haven't gone, you NEED to go!).  So yes, they're authentic, but what does that mean?

These are not fermentation style pickles, but rather like a "fresh-pack".  Imants said they're close to a "cold pack" recipe.  The cucumbers are chopped and packed fresh, half of the brine is cooked, and the rest is basically cold water.  This is the first big taste you get: fresh cucumber, complete with the crunch you'd expect.  The Bazaar was on December 2nd, so if you look at the label, these little babies were only in the jar for a few days...about as long as I could hold off before cracking open the first jar (yes, I bought 2!).

The second flavor is GARLIC.  Latvians love two things, garlic and dill, and these pickles have lots of both.  Because the garlic is a more dominant flavor, it crashes into your palette first.  The rest of the dill, herbs and goodies at the bottom of the jar add just enough flavor to really make these shine.

As Imants Minka explained, he has been tweaking his father's recipe for years now, and I think he's got it down.  He's added just a little bit of red pepper flake to give these little gems a touch of heat, or as he terms it, "Zing!", that you notice only after the other flavors have hit your tongue.  Not enough to classify as a spicy pickle (like some of the "burners" I've reviewed earlier), but it adds just a bit of nice-spice kick to bid you goodbye to your bite.

So...watch the KLA page for their next sale, and pre-order a jar or three of these wonderful pickles! Say Hi to Imants when you pick them up!

Freakin' Pickles Bread & Butter

As we were driving back home from a weekend vacation in the northeast corner of the lower peninsula of Michigan, we passed through the small town of Au Gres ("Aw-grey"), we stopped at Freakin' Pickles right on US-23 (103 E. Huron Road, Au Gres, MI, 48703).  The shop is alot like a wine-tasting room, in that you're invited to taste their varieties before you buy. It was fun to sample the varieties! 

Anyway, given my July experience with their Xtra Hot Garlic pickles, I had to stop and try.  One of the varieties we bought were the Bread & Butter variety that I'll be reviewing now.  We also bought their Old Fashioned Dill and Thick & Sweet varieties that I'll get to in upcoming reviews.

Freakin' Pickles are all crinkle-cut slices, and all have a very nice crunch.  The Bread & Butter have a nice vinegar and sweet balance, which makes them very munchable.  The brine is not the usual thick and syrupy consistency, but rather, a thinner, water-consistency brine, which give them a "fresh pack" impression.

One thing I noticed only after finishing half of the container, is that there are no "bits and pieces" in these very tasty bread'n'butter sweets.  The flavor is certainly there, so perhaps they're made with the normal onion, mustard seed, etc that one would expect, but later removed???

The cucumber flavor comes through very clearly, which reinforces the "fresh pack" impression you get.

These are pretty mild on the vinegar front, so you can eat them as-is, put them on a sandwich, or enjoy them just about any way imaginable without getting "pickle tongue" or tired of the flavor.

One of my favorite ways to use bread'n'butter pickles is to make a left-over meatloaf sandwich on white bread with Miracle Whip and top it with pickles.  My wife's step-dad ("Mop" - My Other Pop) taught me this concoction, and it's a simple, yet delicious way to use up some leftover meatloaf.  Thanks, Mike!

Anyway, I'm very pleased with the two varieties of Freakin' Pickles so far, and look forward to cracking open those 2 remaining tubs in my fridge!

Freakin' Pickles' Xtra Hot Garlic

These come my way via my "friend" Brian, who brought them back for me from a Traverse City trip he recently took.  He kept snickering while telling me about them and his trip.  In normal people, this might have raised some red flags, but then again...I review pickles.

I'm not normally one to really have a "process" of reviewing these things, but over time, I've learned that there really are 3 or 4 "phases" of a review: first impressions, second impression, "munch-ability" and the can-I-finish-the-jar phases.  Usually, by "munch-ability" phase, you have a pretty good idea of the last phase.

First impressions: When you open up the plastic container, you immediately get a whiff of GAHLICK!  Yes, these have garlic in them, and in substantial quantities.  They are a fresh-pack type of pickle, much like Claussen pickles, so you also get a very cucumber-y freshness along with it.  Visually, you can tell there's lots of goodies packed in there: little shreds of what looked like onion (but was actually garlic), a lurking jalapeño and what I originally thought was a little orange pepper for color (we'll get to that in a bit).  First bite was crunchy and the brine was very much like a Claussen pickle with that lighter vinegar and salt-water flavor.  There was a boatload of garlic flavor and a nice tinge of heat.  "Xtra Hot", I thought...meh...maybe for the faint of heart, but I've had hotter.  The crinkle cut slices are great for munching and trying out pickles...for a review, fer-instance!  Note that the brine level didn't completely cover these first impression specimens...

Second impression:  After a non-threatening first impression, I went back later that evening to munch a few more.  Now, the slices were more submerged in the brine.  Lesson learned: never make judgement on spice levels until you've eaten one that's been lurking in the brine.  BANG!  Yep.  They're "Xtra Hot"!  And, yes, have GARLIC in them.  What appears to be some kind of happily clear, non-threatening brine turned out to be a devilishly transformative solution adding lava-like heat to these innocent cukes!  Wow!  I looked on the ingredients panel a little closer and Lo-and-Behold, after "Fresh Jalapeños" there sat "Fresh Habeneros" smirking back at me.

OK, so far, the 1st and 2nd impressions have varied wildly.  "Munch-ability" is a bit more suspect...

After 12 hours or so for the ashes that were my tastebuds to dissipate, I figured I'd try for that munching goal.  The 1st and 2nd impressions came together, and while the searing heat didn't disappear, I'd have to say that these were still very munchable, although in quantities that will probably eliminate worries of the container ever getting too close to room temp.  My last goal post, I think will have an answer of Yes, we'll be finishing these babies off, albeit rather slower than most.

These are probably the only pickles that could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the McClure's spicy pickles or Harrold's Texicun Derned Hot pickles on the heat side of things.  The garlic content is undeniably high and ever-present.  On flavor they're very good, but because of the boldness of both garlic and heat, they have a "one-trick-pony" profile about them.  This isn't a "bad" thing, but it's a "what is" quality.

I looked on their website, and Freakin' Pickles has (at this time) 14 varieties and surprisingly, a number of retailers across Michigan that handle their brand. I'm down in Monroe regularly for band rehearsals, and Hi-Lite Market carries them, as well as a number of other local food products (shameless promotion: my wife sells a seasoned salt, Grandma Kuehnlein's Secret Recipe, at Hi-Lite).

So, Brian Ottum remains a true friend, not just a food prankster, for bringing me back a unique pickle to enjoy and review.  Brian is an accomplished nature photographer and astronomy imager and loves to teach and mentor folks on his passions for the heavens and capturing their beauty.  You can find his work at AstroPicsDaily on Instagram and his tutorials and sky tours on YouTube.  Thanks, Brian!

 

Kroger Hot & Sweet Snackers

Kroger Hot & Sweet Snackers

Heat, Sweet and Cheap!

Those three words really sing for me.  Kroger's Hot & Sweet Snackers make an excellent replacement for the excellent Premium Selection Spicy Bread & Butter variety.  Premium Selection is another Kroger Co. brand, so apparently Kroger has a relationship with a great pickle maker (or at least somebody who makes really great sweet-hot pickles).

Heat.  Yep.  These have some kick, but nothing that's going to abuse your taste buds.  The warm feeling they leave on your tongue that combines with the nicely Sweet and a balanced amount of vinegar/sour flavor.  All-around balance of sweet, sour and heat.  You can munch on these enough so that Kroger ought to put a warning label on the side, or sell them as 2-packs.

As you can see in the photo to the right, there's plenty of goodies in there...mustard seed, onion slices, and plenty of red chili peppers.  All of the stuff that you'd expect from a premium jar of pickles.

On the label, they point out that there are no artificial flavors, dyes or use of high-fructose corn syrup, and once you opened the lid, it was clear they meant it. The light color of the cucumber was actually a little odd, as there's usually a more yellowy color that perhaps is from that dye?  

The crinkle cut worked well, and set expectations that you quickly realized as a crunchy bite.

Lastly, these were the Kroger store-branded pickles, and had a price to match...I wanna say $2.59?  For such a nice presentation, flavor and crunch, what a deal.  The pickle department at the Kroger company has certainly done their job--I now have a number of their varieties that are not only as good as the national brands, but in most cases exceed the flavor, quality and value.

 

Meijer Bread & Butter Chips

 

Meijer Bread & Butter Chips

In the infinite universe of pickle selections your travels often take you to places you seldom frequent and you can find varieties and brands that you wouldn't ordinarily seek out.  Well, due to a weird pandemic shortage of Solo Almond Filling (for Gretchen's bakery), I found myself in a Meijer store on the other side of Ann Arbor (about 15 miles west).  Since I was in a grocery store, and had located the last 2 cans of the stuff for 25 miles, I dug out the shopping list and found we were out of bread'n'butter sweet pickles.  

If you're not familiar with the Meijer chain, they're a Grand Rapids, MI based chain of everything-stores, they're positively monstrously large buildings with a full grocery store, department store, hardware store and outdoor gardening store all under one roof.  When we were growing up, they were a novelty and were known as "Meijer's Friendly Acres".  No kidding!  I detest getting anything in that store because every visit is 45 minutes, regardless of how much stuff you're picking up.

After a 10 minute search for the pickle aisle, I found them, but didn't find any chunk-style bread'n'butter pickles, like we prefer in the Kroger store brand.  I hadn't tried Meijer's offering, so I picked up a jar of their "chips".

They're crinkle-cut, and seemed to have plenty of the mustard seed and onions that other store brands often skimp on.  Upon opening the jar, the pickles were sticking out above the brine level, so I figured those couple might be a little on the limp side--they were.  What I didn't expect is for most of the jar to be pretty limp.

The flavor was good, though; not too sweet, and a tad more vinegary than I was expecting.  You "grow into" the vinegar strength, although there's enough there that you won't have to worry about burning through a jar of these.  Like the McClure's pickles, the vinegar acts as a brake on things, although, McClure's pickles set the bar.

These are good muncher pickles to have "straight up" on the side, but would also be an excellent sandwich or burger topping.  The "not too sweet" character puts 'em up there.  I made a burger and had these on top and they worked well.  They'd be perfect on a meatloaf sandwich!

Lastly, they weren't that expensive...these ain't no $9 pickles.  I think they were around $2.39 for a decent sized jar.

Vlasic Zesty Bread & Butter Chips

 

Vlasic Zesty Bread & Butter Chips

I'm always on the lookout for a kick of flavor, whether it be something unusual, or a little added heat.  My favorite dill pickle remains Vlasic Zesty Dills (which I just realized I've never reviewed!), so when I saw that they've applied the Zesty formula, to their bread'n'butter pickles, it was like a moth to a flame.  In looking for the Zesty Dill review, I noted that I have a fair number of sweet-and-hot varieties in there, so apparently, I've developed a taste for them.

In spite of the rather bland labeling (the Zesty Dills make it abundantly clear they're "zesty"), you immediately notice there's something different about them because the brine is a darker, yellowish color. If I had a guess, it would be due to the red pepper bits in there, or perhaps the abundance of mustard seed.  With all pickles, I popped them in the refrigerator to chill them down--warm pickles just don't cut it in my book.

First bite exhibited all of the hallmark Vlasic crunch.  You really have to give Vlasic credit for doing that so well.  Initial flavor doesn't give you much hint that this is a "zesty", but by the time you're done munching with that first chunk, you notice there is indeed some heat in there.  Great balance of sweet and vinegar, although its possible some might think they're a tad on the sweet side.  After a few chunks, enjoying the sweet heat, the heat starts to accumulate.  It's not "heat-sweats" type of heat like McClure's or Harrold's, just a nice simmer.  I found it took about 10+ minutes for the heat to dissipate from my palate, which tells me the heat is probably from some spice or pepper source that is high in oil, as oil heat usually lingers.  There weren't any visible "heat sources" in the jar, like jalapeno pepper or those little Thai "meal-enders", like I've found in the Private Selection hot/sweet varieties.

Overall, I like these for a good sweet-hot snacking pickle.  The heat will build up gradually enough to put the brakes on finishing a jar, but won't singe your tongue either.  Unlike Famous Dave's these aren't as vinegary, so you won't get the "pucker-up" effect either.  For topping a meatloaf sandwich, they'd be pretty nice, but I think the nod would have to go to Dave's for that use, as the extra vinegar flavor would work really well.  However, since Vlasic is a national brand, you shouldn't have any problems finding them in your neighborhood grocery store.  You really can't go wrong with any Vlasic pickle, though...good crunch, balanced flavor and great availability.

Famous Dave's Signature Spicy

 

Famous Dave's Signature
Spicy Pickle Chips

Well, its been a while, folks, but Covid-19 has brought about all sorts of digging up of old relics, and here we are...another pickle blog entry!  

Today's foray is largely due to a trip to CostCo, where they had the gallon-sized jar of Famous Dave's Signature Spicy Pickle Chips in quantity.  They looked great in the jar, but if I didn't care for them, I didn't want to be eating them until next Easter.  So, this week's grocery run found a smaller jar in my cart.

I gave them a few minutes to chill, but not enough to really do the job right, but I was worse than a cat, and I had to crack open the jar.

The label says that they have a "unique blend of sweet and heat" and I think they hit it on the mark.

Sweet. Yep, they are sweet pickles, in the bread'n'butter variety, but nicely, they're not over the top.  I munched on a half-dozen of them, and didn't get the sweet-gag that you can sometime get.  DANGER: this is an addictive quality!

Heat. Yep, after the half-dozen chips or so, there was some heat buildup, but not in an unpleasant way.  The heat tended to stick around for about 5 minutes, but nothing to sweat about (literally!).

Unique Blend. I think the "unique blend" is probably the Sweet, with the Heat combined with a lick of vinegar, so that all 3 flavors are experienced for a pretty tasty combo.

Applications.  Clearly the folks at Famous Dave's have a few other culinary strengths, as their ribs are, well, "famous"...or at least in places I'm not.  This hints that they may just be putting things things on the side, or on top of their more "famous" entrees and sandwiches.  The sweet+heat+vinegar flavor would go great on something that needed dressing up, like the classic leftover meatloaf sandwich, or floating on top of a load of cole slaw on a Memphis-style BBQ beef--hey!  Dave might have thought of that one already!?

In any case, I liked these things and look forward to munching on them and trying them out as toppers.  Nice job, Dave!  Now...if we can talk about getting you to open a rib joint near Ann Arbor....