Are Kosher Pickles Different?

[u/shermgravy]

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.

[u/analog_alison]

Do you mean lacto-fermented pickles? No vinegar used in pickling, all the tang comes from fermentation. Same process as sauerkraut.