CATEGORY

Dill Pickles

2008 CHEFSBEST® AWARD FOR BEST TASTE WINNER

Claussen

What Makes Great Dill Pickles?

Delivering a strong sour tang with a sharp crunch, dill pickles make a great accompaniment to burgers and hot dogs. They also can be a satisfying snack on their own. Include them in sack lunches, serve them on party platters with other finger foods, or wedge a few spears into sandwiches.

Our chefs define high quality dill pickles as having a fresh and natural cucumber-like appearance, without color enhancements. Dill pickles should be plump and not shriveled, with a bold and complex aroma that features cucumber, vinegar, and seasoning notes—including dill, garlic, pepper, coriander, or mustard seeds.

Dill pickles are in proper taste balance when pronounced sourness leads, followed very closely by saltiness. Faint, but natural sweetness and barely noticeable bitterness should occupy the low end of pickles’ basic taste profile.

Dill pickles’ seasoning should deliver high flavor intensity—a measure of ingredients’ strength—while its cucumber flavor should be slightly lower without becoming too masked by the seasoning. The flavor character, or quality of ingredients contributing to the pickles’ flavor, will not be as complex as the aroma, but should still have similar notes of cucumber and seasoning adding to its complexity.

Whole spears and sliced dill pickles should be firm, not flimsy. The external texture should be crisp like a fresh cucumber. Inside, the texture should be crunchy without tomato-like mushiness, with seeds and inner flesh that stay intact. Expect a medium-length dissolve time and a moderate finish, with some flavors lingering on the palate.

Product Category Definition

The category judged was defined for the consumer market, not including pickle relish or sweet pickles.

Other Leading Brands:

Mt. Olive, Vlasic