Supermarket Wasteland Pickles

Most pickles found in American supermarkets are vinegar pickles - cucumbers preserved in vinegar but not fermented. These can still be good but in a sane world we’d have more fermented pickles and fewer dead ones.

Pickles from Claussen found in the refrigerated section are just vinegar pickles. Claussen pickles have added Sodium Benzoate and Polysorbate 80 and advertise on their label that a 1/2 spear contains 310 mg of salt.

Bubbies pickles ($10.99 for a 33 oz jar!) are fermented - you can tell by the cloudy brine. What a surprise that in America the healthy food is three times as expensive as the junk food. They contain cucumbers, water, salt, dill, spices, mustard seed and calcium chloride. Plus all of that probiotic bacterial goodness. They taste incredible and if it makes sense I detected notes of Durian - a complex flavor.

Claussen is produced by food conglomerate Kraft Heinz, where Warren Buffett owns the majority of shares, followed by Blackrock. Bubbies, as of late, is owned by the Fermented Food Holdings family of brands.

Argh! Against my better judgement I bought some Vlasic vinegar pickles recently and the skins were chewy and inedible. Had to throw them out.

—Alex

Nirvana Wok MENU

Nirvana WOK Online: nirvanawok.com • Gmail • Instagram • Twitter • TikTok • Facebook • YouTube • Square • Donorbox • Patreon • Venmo • Coinbase