This week the Express-News Taste Team sampled every pickle-flavored product they could find — 34 in all.
David Perez/San Antonio Express-News
Stroll down just about any aisle of a grocery store this summer, and you’ll see just how prevalent this puckering trend has become. Pickle-flavored potato chips have been around for a few years. Now, popcorn, pretzels and corn puffs have joined the pickle party. You can quench your thirst with pickle beer, kombucha and power drinks. Over in the deli, you can pick a peck of pickle-flavored cheeses and pickle crackers to serve them on.
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Area grocery stores are well-stocked with pickle-flavored products this summer.
Paul Stephen/San Antonio Express-News
This week the Express-News Taste Team sampled every pickle-flavored product they could find.
David Perez/San Antonio Express-News
According to market research published in February by whateverbrands.com, the global pickle boom is projected to hit a value of $28.15 billion this year, with North America accounting for 35% of that. The study cites a significant shift in the way younger consumers snack, seeking out intense flavor hits in every bite. And you can’t discredit the impact of TikTok, Instagram and other social media platforms, with “with 63% of consumers expressing positive engagement with pickle flavour content,” according to the report.
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National headlines have declared pickle flavor to be “the pumpkin spice of summer.” But are these products any good?
This week I scoured San Antonio’s grocery stores and loaded up on 34 pickle-flavored products — actual pickles excluded — to see what stood out and what was best left on the shelf.
There were a few items that were perfectly fine, but felt like redundant entries here. I really enjoyed H-E-B’s Spicy Dill Pickle Potato Salad, but who doesn’t already put pickles in their potato salad? Good product, but in a different lane from these ultra-trendy pickle-flavored curiosities.
Others, like the famous dill pickle paletas from El Paraiso, were not included. This shopping trip was limited to conventional grocery stores where an impulse buy might land a pickle-flavored treat in your basket alongside the evening’s dinner plan.
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If you’re ready to rise and brine, here’s what you need to know before filling the cart.
Grillo’s Pickles Pickle de Gallo is one of many pickle-flavored products available in San Antonio-area grocery stores.
Paul Stephen/San Antonio Express-News
Best in brine
Grillo’s Pickles Pickle de Gallo ($5.99, Whole Foods Market): This was the big shocker that surprised everyone in the room. In addition to the pest pickle-pun tame on the table, this product was actually delicious. It’s modeled after a classic pico de gallo, but swaps tomatoes for even-more-acidic diced pickles. The bright flavors of onion, red pepper and garlic bring balance to the brine, and multiple people, myself included, kept coming back to eat it by the spoonful.
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Covered Bridge Creamy Dill Pickle Kettle Chips is one of many pickle-flavored products available in San Antonio-area grocery stores.
Paul Stephen/San Antonio Express-News
Pickle potato chips
Covered Bridge Creamy Dill Pickle Kettle Chips ($3.99, Central Market): This is a huge field, and I found eight entries to compare. The robust kettle-style chips consistently delivered the most impact, with the crunchy body to hold up to the pickle punch. Some of the flavor blends fell flat with the addition of sugar, which detracted from the salt, vinegar and dill that define the field. The runaway champion is made with red Russet potatoes and fried to a gorgeous bronze, delivering crunch and twang for days.
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Vlasic Pickle Balls is one of many pickle-flavored products available in San Antonio-area grocery stores.
Paul Stephen/San Antonio Express-News
Spudless snacks
Vlasic Pickle Balls ($3.47, H-E-B): This field was made up of other snack-aisle staples such as popcorn, pretzels and a dill-pickle twist on Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. Vlazic won on both novelty and broad appeal. While I was shopping, a random customer saw the contents of my cart and said her kids slam these by the bag. Unlike a traditional cheese puff, these neon-green spheres of sour won’t leave your fingers covered in orange residue — or green.
Planters Dill Pickle Flavored Whole Cashews are one of many pickle-flavored products available in San Antonio-area grocery stores.
Paul Stephen/San Antonio Express-News
Go nuts
Planters Dill Pickle Flavored Whole Cashews ($3.97, H-E-B): Where almonds and sunflower seeds were new to me, these cashews were no strangers. I have a longstanding love of cashews, and as a kid I used to get into trouble for routinely picking them all out of the can of mixed nuts in my dad’s office. Planters keeps it fairly reserved here, with a toned-down pickle flavor that’s more aroma than briny bite. If you want a good entry point to the field, this is the place to start.
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Heartbeat Hot Sauce Co. Dill Pickle Serrano hot sauce is one of many pickle-flavored products available in San Antonio-area grocery stores.
Paul Stephen/San Antonio Express-News
Big squeeze
Heartbeat Hot Sauce Co. Dill Pickle Serrano hot sauce ($9.98, H-E-B): The field of pickle-flavored sauces ran the gamut from mayo-heavy sandwich spreads to dill pickle ranch dip to dill pickle vinaigrette to this bougie bottle. The creamier options all felt like muted also-rans next to this powerful condiment that married two classic Texas flavors in briny pickles and fiery serrano chiles. It didn’t taste like a gimmick and would be right at home alongside breakfast tacos as a green salsa alternative.
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Boar’s Head Dill Pickle Hummus is one of many pickle-flavored products available in San Antonio-area grocery stores.
Paul Stephen/San Antonio Express-News
Surprise smash
Boar’s Head Dill Pickle Hummus ($5.49, H-E-B): This one made a surprising amount of sense the second I tried it. Dill is a favorite herb in many Mediterranean cuisines, but rarely makes it into this chickpea dip. That particular flavor, along with the acidic punch of pickle where lemon normally does the heavy lifting, was a natural fit. This one can sneak under the radar at your next party. The pickle presence is there, but it feels clean and refreshing, a perfect whimsical addition to a crudités platter at your next cookout.
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The Laughing Cow Dill Pickle Cheese Wedges is one of many pickle-flavored products available in San Antonio-area grocery stores.
Paul Stephen/San Antonio Express-News
No dill
The Laughing Cow Dill Pickle Cheese Wedges ($3.98, H-E-B): This was a universal dud with everyone who tried it. The ingredients don’t list anything beyond “natural flavors” to explain the odd and unpleasant suggestion of pickle. Add that to the spreadable and slightly sweet cheddar base, and you get a product that does justice to neither pickles, or this otherwise likable cheese product. You can leave this one right in the deli case where you found it.