Spicy Pickle Update: Wickles and Claussen

Hello and thanks for tuning into another round of pickled picks with some new and never before tried selections. I must say that BOTH of these jars came highly recommended by fellow pickle fans and honorary members of the Pickle Posse. We will probably come up with some kind of pin or certificate or other reward for people who are kind enough to suggest pickles for the blog.

Let's start off with "When life gives us cucumbers, we pickle them!" Claussen's Hot and Spicy Spears. According to the web site, the recipes used to make Claussen pickles are 150 years old. The legend of this company is that there was a bumper crop of cucumbers sometime in the 1870s. Rather than let them rot in the field, the company began picking them in as little as ten days from vine to jar. Unlike many other brands, Claussen pickles are uncooked, and are typically found in the refrigerated section of grocery stores.

I found that I liked these pickles more by the end of the jar than when it was first opened. They tasted rather like vinegar on first bite, but that wore off as the pickles breathed.  It was replaced by red pepper and Tumeric heat and a strong garlic after taste.  It only took a week to finish these. The photo shows one of my favorite ways to eat the spears was wrapped in salami or other lunch meats.  The spices left behind revealed two large dried red peppers, plenty of garlic and a ton of pickling spice. I would recommend these if you can find them. These pickles are in such demand that there is a locator on their web site. 

Next up were Wickles Pickles. And I say "were" because this jar is also long gone, along with the Hot & Spicy Spears. WOW! I was wonderfully surprised at the flavor of these pickles! Their website says that the recipes were originated by 90 years ago and jars were only given to family members. But in 1998, the public was privileged to partake of these pickles, too.

I took home a jar of Original to start, but there is a spicier version as well. These pickles truly were wickedly delicious from start to finish. They are a great blend of sweet and spicy that were perfect on our BBQ sandwiches. One of the secrets could be the apple cider vinegar they use. Like the Claussen's jar, there were plenty of dried red pepper in the jar. I can heartily recommend these pickles and going back for more. 

CLICK HERE TO LOCATE CLAUSSEN HOT & SPICY SPEARS
CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE WICKLES PICKLES