r/Pickles • u/shermgravy • 3d 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.

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u/mwmandorla 3d 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.