What is Pickled Cucumber?
Cucumbers pickled in a salt/vinegar brine seasoned with garlic and herbs. They have a sour and salty taste and a crisp, crunchy texture. They can be served on burgers or sandwiches or as an accompaniment to cheese and cold meats.
What does Pickled Cucumber Taste Like?
Sour is one of the five main tastes. It is tart and bright, sometimes with a mouth-puckering quality. Sour is a naturally occurring flavor found in many foods, including citrus, vinegar, various dairy products, and certain fruits. Sour is used to enhance a dish or drink and is used as both a main and complimentary flavor.
Ingredients
The cucumber is a vine-growing vegetable with a shiny, smooth green skin and a long round body. Cucumbers vary in size depending on when they were picked and the variety of the vegetable. They can be a few inches, or over a foot long and are wide like a zucchini. Though smooth, they skin may be ridged, or have sparse and tiny rough spots. The flesh is a pale white green with a soft yet firm and crunchy texture that is full of water. Seeds run down the middle of the cucumber. This vegetable has a refreshing and mildly green and watery taste. Cucumbers are best eaten raw.
Water is a substance and chemical compound made up of hydrogen and oxygen. It is clear, fluid, flavorless and odorless. Water is a necessity in nearly every aspect of life, including cooking, baking and hydrating the human body. Water can be served as a cold beverage, or at any temperature comfortable to the mouth and skin.
Vinegar is made from alcohol. It can be made from wine, fermented apple, grains and other sources. Healthy bacteria is used to ferment this product. The final result is a thin liquid used to season foods. All vinegar is sour. White vinegar has a sharp sour flavor and is clear. Red wine vinegar is a clear red color and tastes a bit more rounded. Balsamic vinegar is dark red or brown and tastes rich, fruity and sour. There are many other kinds of vinegar, each with its own unique flavor profile. Some types of vinegar are suited to specific flavors and cuisines. It is used in sauces and in dishes both sweet and savory.
Salt is a mineral composed mostly of sodium chloride. It is the main flavoring used in food and is naturally occurring in certain foods, such as cheese, beets, meat and celery, plus many others. Salt is white and has finer granules than sugar. Many commercial salts include iodide, while others exclude it. Most salts are white, while some are naturally pale pink with minerals. Salt brings out the flavor of something and can create a tangy mouthfeel, if used in excess.
Tarragon is a perennial herb commonly used in cooking. Tarragon leaves are narrow and sword-shaped, and can be used fresh or dried. Dried tarragon has a more intense flavor, similar to anise or licorice with a bittersweet note. Tarragon is used to flavor vinegars or pickles, and also complements fish, meat or egg dishes.
Garlic is used in cuisines around the world and is extremely popular for its depth of flavor. The garlic bulb forms underneath the soil and is harvested once it reaches maturity. The bulb typically has thin, dry, white and flaky skin, surrounding the individual cloves. Often there are 10-12 cloves to a bulb/head of garlic. The cloves are cream colored with a strong smell and flavor that is spicy and sharp. Garlic takes on a nutty flavor in addition, when cooked. It is used in countless dishes, sauces, breads and more.
The peppercorn plant grows in tropical climate and produces tiny black fruit. The fruit is dried and become hard. At this point it is ground into a textured powder comprised of black and grey dots. It has a flavor that is spicy, pungent and sharp. Pepper is an extremely popular spice, especially in Western cuisines and lends a gentle heat to dishes. There are different varieties of black pepper and the flavor changes subtly because of this.
