Pickles - Are they good for you?

Hansonian

Hey ya'll,

So I just bought a huge bottle of whole pickles. Normally, I try my hardest to stay away from foods that have ingredients I can't pronounce or foods that have more than 5 ingredients. But they seem so harmless - cucumber, vinegar, salt.

This may sound silly but are they good for you at all? I can a whole pickle for 20 calories and it lasts a long time. It's a nice snack and I really love the pickled taste. Is there something in them that would make me not want to eat them? Or can I just go crazy and eat a pickle every day?

Thanks!

PS. If anyone knows of any health benefits of pickling your own cucumbers, please let me know! I'm starting my garden this weekend and I'd love to put in a few extra cucumber plants for pickles!

3smiii

They make low sodium pickles

chrisdavey

it will provide you with some energy

It is unlikely to have any detrimental affect on your health.

If you like them, eat them.

rduhlir

The only big thing with pickles is the sodium content. With pickling there is a lot of salt involved in the process. I LOVE DILL PICKLES. Have every since I was a kid. I can go through an entire gallon jar in a week and not blink an eye. So unless you are super concerned with sodium eat up. There are "lower" sodium pickles out there...but they are usually super small jars and really aren't worth the price (you get like maybe 4 whole cucumbers per jar).

Canning them yourself would be the better option to cut down on the salt. I just bought a canning set myself and will be taking a crack at canning pickles myself once my cucumbers start producing.

Hansonian

Thanks for all your responses! I am definitely going to try pickling my own this summer! Good luck on yours, rduhlir!

Achrya

I mean, they don't have any magical components but they also aren't going to hinder your progress in any way.

George_Baileys_Ghost

From a health standpoint, sure.

Morally and ethically though.....no way man.

Rocbola

They're probably not ideal; cucumbers would be better. But i still love pickles. I make pickled jalapenos every year and i add a few super chilis or tabasco peppers into each jar. They are so good!

chrisdavey

They're probably not ideal; cucumbers would be better. But i still love pickles. I make pickled jalapenos every year and i add a few super chilis or tabasco peppers into each jar. They are so good!

why are they not ideal?

cucumbers taste like *kitten*. Pickles don't.

dakotababy

Awww...now I want a pickle!

nsimon24

Pickles are insanely high in sodium - one can have almost half your daily allowance of salt (even the low salt ones are only "low" relative to the regular). I love them, but the salt sort of kills any healthy aspects they may have.

Cukes are really easy to grow - if you are planting a garden I would def include them! There are a lot of varieties you can only grow from seed, and the flavors can really be different then the ones you buy in the store.

RhineDHP

They're probably not ideal; cucumbers would be better. But i still love pickles. I make pickled jalapenos every year and i add a few super chilis or tabasco peppers into each jar. They are so good!

why are they not ideal?

cucumbers taste like *kitten*. Pickles don't.

What? Cucumbers taste amazing! So do pickles. Yay for all long, green-vegetable-like food stuffs!

Achrya

Pickles are insanely high in sodium - one can have almost half your daily allowance of salt (even the low salt ones are only "low" relative to the regular). I love them, but the salt sort of kills any healthy aspects they may have.

Cukes are really easy to grow - if you are planting a garden I would def include them! There are a lot of varieties you can only grow from seed, and the flavors can really be different then the ones you buy in the store.

Are we really at a point where we're telling people pickles are bad for them? Really?


I quit..

desireecl

I love pickles and usually eat them several times a week. Never tried making my own though, not domesticated enough They are very flavorful for few calories, but the sodium is crazy high. I don't worry about it much b/c my blood pressure is low/normal, I drink a lot of water, and I don't add table salt to anything I eat other than eggs and pasta water. As long as you don't have a medical issue that restricts sodium, enjoy your pickles.

Rocbola

They're probably not ideal; cucumbers would be better. But i still love pickles. I make pickled jalapenos every year and i add a few super chilis or tabasco peppers into each jar. They are so good!

why are they not ideal?

cucumbers taste like *kitten*. Pickles don't.

You must be getting the wrong cukes.

nsimon24

If you worry about Sodium, then yeah, pickles are (unfortunately) on the list of things to have in moderation - any type. If you are okay with high salt levels then go to town and enjoy. I personally love them, but the palpitations the salt creates reduces that pleasure significantly, as does the resulting bloat, for me.

I did not say they were unhealthy, I said they were high in sodium.

tonyrocks922

the salt sort of kills any healthy aspects they may have.

Why are you posting things that are blatantly false?

knra_grl

considering if you binged on pickles you probably wouldn't feel great afterwards, a pickle a day? go for it, but yes the sodium is what you want to watch for :flowerforyou:

Strokingdiction

Hey ya'll,

So I just bought a huge bottle of whole pickles. Normally, I try my hardest to stay away from foods that have ingredients I can't pronounce or foods that have more than 5 ingredients. But they seem so harmless - cucumber, vinegar, salt.

This may sound silly but are they good for you at all? I can a whole pickle for 20 calories and it lasts a long time. It's a nice snack and I really love the pickled taste. Is there something in them that would make me not want to eat them? Or can I just go crazy and eat a pickle every day?

Thanks!

PS. If anyone knows of any health benefits of pickling your own cucumbers, please let me know! I'm starting my garden this weekend and I'd love to put in a few extra cucumber plants for pickles!

Unless you have a medical condition where consuming salt is a problem then there's not a reason for you to avoid them.

The benefits of pickling your own pickles:
1. You can find a recipe that is tailored to your specific tastes. I pickle some of mine with habanero peppers because I enjoy hot foods.
2. It's can be fun to do if you enjoy cooking.
3. Giving them as gifts can also be fun if you're friend with folks that appreciate handmade gifts.
4. Experimenting with different recipies and using your family as your taste testing guinie pigs can bring a certain amount of satisfaction both when they love it and even when they hate it (grossed out faces make me laugh).

That's all I can think of at the moment.

cchew686

Had one last night. Delicious, satisfying crunch. Mmmm Pickles. Oddly enough, I only like them on their own. I always take the pickles off any sandwich/burger that has them and eat them by themselves.

As to the question, I am no expert, but for me pickles are a great snack. I am not really watching sodium and they are low calorie for a quick snack.

Achrya

If you worry about Sodium, then yeah, pickles are (unfortunately) on the list of things to have in moderation - any type. If you are okay with high salt levels then go to town and enjoy. I personally love them, but the palpitations the salt creates reduces that pleasure significantly, as does the resulting bloat, for me.

I did not say they were unhealthy, I said they were high in sodium.

oh.

the salt sort of kills any healthy aspects they may have.

K

cwolfman13

PS. If anyone knows of any health benefits of pickling your own cucumbers, please let me know! I'm starting my garden this weekend and I'd love to put in a few extra cucumber plants for pickles!

good for the gut...probiotics. most, if not all commercially pickled products are pasteurized which kills all of the beneficial bacteria that exist when you do your own pickling. I've tried my hand at pickles and they're a bit tricky...it's tough to not make them too soggy. Also, a lot of people who pickle do a cook and that will kill off that bacteria as well...I just do a brine.

I also make tons of my own picked cabbage (aka sauerkraut)...my signature kraut is a red/green cabbage combo with thinly sliced onion and jalapenos...I brine it for about 5 days and it comes out most excellent. It is delicious obviously on bratts and whatnot, but I often eat it straight up out of the jar....I eat a ton of it. I'm really getting into fermenting foods so I think I'm going to invest in some actual crocks so I can do bigger batches of things.

nsimon24

the salt sort of kills any healthy aspects they may have.

Why are you posting things that are blatantly false?

Potatoes are not unhealthy for you, but if you chop them up into strips and deep fat fry them, the addition of the fat changes them from being healthy to a food that should be consumed in moderation, if not one that is blatantly unhealthy.

If you add salt to a low-calorie item like a cucumber, by turning it into a pickle, the increase in salt can outweigh any health benefits from the original if sodium is a concern for you. Cukes are great for when you are dieting since they have few calories and can fill you up - you can eat an entire large cuke for under 50 calories, but the nutritional value is pretty much zero (as in under 2% RDV of anything vitamin/mineral wise) - especially in relation to other veggie options out there. Bulk isn't nutrition, it's bulk meant to take up space in your stomach to make you feel full, but water does the same thing.

Yes, Cukes are low-calorie by themselves, but adding 1/8 to 1/4 of a tsp of salt to a five-inch piece is a lot of sodium for most people. If it is something you have to watch, pickles are a no go.

cricket_77

3. Giving them as gifts can also be fun if you're friend with folks that appreciate handmade gifts.

I put a single packaged pickle in my daughters stocking this past Christmas! She loves pickles and had a good laugh :laugh:

JenSD6

The beauty of pickling is that you can pickle so many different vegetables. Beans, carrots, beets, asparagus... the list goes on. Green beans are my favourite, and I make my own.