Cracovia Kartuskie Dill Pickles

Its been pointed out to me that its been over a year since my last post, so apologies Pickle Fans, I've been neglecting my duties!

Today's delectable dill comes from Poland--the Cracovia Kartuskie Dill Pickles. I found these at the Copernicus European Deli for $3.99 on Main Street in Ann Arbor, where they carry the complete Cracovia line of Polish foods...jarred pickles, salads, sourkrauts, beets and canned fish. It all looked very delectable, so I don't think you could go wrong with any of it. But I digress...

The thing that caught my eye on the shelf of these gems were the spices and veggies used to season the pickles...onions, red peppers, and of course, nice sized gherkins. It was torture waiting to get home from a dinner party to try them.

This pickle was a surprise, though...I expected a very vinegary pickle but these cross the boundary between a bread'n'butter variety and a mild dill pickle. The typical dill pickle taste we're all used to is completely absent, but in its place is a very mild, savory and slightly sweet pickle where all of the flavors combine yet don't disappear individually. The sweetness is very light--nothing like a bread'n'butter, so if you're not a sweet pickle fan, these won't really offend. They really do bridge the gap between a vinegar dill and a bread'n'butter variety, which really surprised me.

The flavor is a very mild, blended variety, with no one spice or flavor dominating the others. Its common to see bold flavors that stand out to define the pickle, but in these, its the blending that stands out--nothing obtrusive, nothing offensive, nothing particularly notable, but yet together, distinctive. Even the brine is pretty balanced, not at all bitey--the polar opposite of the McClure varieties.

The Kartuskies get a solid 8 out of 10 on the Crunch-O-Meter scale, and that seems to be a pretty high mark for european pickles, which I've not found to have the crunch that we seem to like here in the US. In this way, I was pleasantly surprised, since I was expecting something a bit softer.

To wrap things up, I think these are a nice change of pace if you're straddling the fence deciding on whether to go sweet or vinegary, or if you're just wanting to go for something different. The balance of flavor is how these pickles stand out from the pack.