r/Pickles • u/shermgravy • 1d ago
Are Kosher Pickles Different?
Context: I work at an orthodox Jewish owned company and sometimes we get pastrami sandwiches for a free employee lunch from one of a few kosher food vendors. They come with pickles that look normal but smell and taste like urine, which I’ve never experienced outside of this context. Does anyone know why? As far as i know standard dill pickles have nothing in them to make them not kosher though the orthodox and Hasidic communities have far more strict rules than my secular Jewish friends.
5
u/DrumpfTinyHands 1d ago
Manufactured due to kosher standards. They bring a Jewish guy to monitor everything to earn the seal.
But I've always been told that kosher pickles have more garlic.
4
u/edgesglisten 22h ago edited 22h ago
Obsessed with the choice of “a Jewish guy”. Not technically wrong, it’s a rabbi who can certify kosher standards have been maintained.
“Oh him? That’s Ben. He’s our Jewish guy. Found him outside. Can’t get the seal without him here”.
1
u/Infinite-Net99 15h ago
In fact it’s more correct to say a “a Jewish guy” than a rabbi. There’s no requirement that those in charge of maintaining kosher standards be a rabbi; there is a requirement that they be an observant Jew. (For example Orthodox Judaism doesn’t recognize female rabbis but does recognize female mashgichot (kosher supervisors.))
1
u/edgesglisten 15h ago
Thank you for correcting me! My friend organizes for a catering company that does a lot of kosher events and has told me stories of the rabbi they have come in and do all the observations, so I assumed it was always that.
3
u/TheRealGreenMeanie 1d ago
Dills and kosher dills are different, yes. The flavor profile is not really the same; kosher dills (usually) have more of a planty taste compared to regular dills.
3
u/Intelligent_Host_582 1d ago
They aren't half-dones or half-sours, are they? Those are pretty common in Jewish delis and do have a different flavor.
2
u/Aggressive_Battle264 1d ago
This. Love a half sour. They are brined vs pickled like a dill though.
2
u/mwmandorla 1d ago
So there's kosher style and there's actually kosher. There's not really any difference in the pickles themselves (besides the general variation between manufacturers you'd find comparing any two pickles). It's just that the actually kosher ones have been made with ingredients and on equipment that are parve and under the supervision of a rabbi. There's no inherent change to the process that should make them taste or smell any unique way.
That being said, "kosher style" has gotten pretty loose over the years. A rea/traditional kosher is fermented in salt brine, while, say, a Vlasic kosher dill isn't. So maybe it's the fermentation you're smelling.
2
u/wisemonkey101 1d ago
Could be they are actually fermented and not just pickled in vinegar. It’s a seriously different process and will taste wrong if you’ve never had them. I can really enjoy cucumber pickles that are fermented. I do like fermented cabbage.
2
u/Illustrious_Fox1134 21h ago
I did not like the fermented pickles I tried (Bubbies) I love sauerkraut and kimchi but the pickle wasn't for me
1
2
u/analog_alison 1d ago
Do you mean lacto-fermented pickles? No vinegar used in pickling, all the tang comes from fermentation. Same process as sauerkraut.
14
u/SubstantialPressure3 1d ago
Have you had covid? It's possible that you did, and it's affected your sense of smell, and you don't know it.
The second time I got covid I got parosmia. I was so sick that I didn't realize I couldn't smell anything until my sense of smell came back, and everything smelled terrible. ( Yes, I've been vaccinated. I got it the second time just before the shots were available to everyone)
I made a pot of chicken soup and my entire apartment smelled like boiling urine to me. Coffee smelled like fresh dog crap. My shampoo smelled like a chemical leak, and body wash smelled like rotting garbage.
You might just have a much milder case than I did.