Sitting at the bar at new Lawrence Park hot spot Baba, my eye was drawn to a commanding presence behind the counter.
asserted
eye → sit → counter
I couldn’t stop staring at it, as entranced by this giant gherkin as the screaming apes agog at the plinth that opens “2001: A Space Odyssey.”
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that → stop → 2001
The pickle’s fate was to be hewn into slivers, each impaled into a pretty S curve to adorn a martini made with house pickle brine.
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fate → hew → brine
“I like that it gives such a classic cocktail a different savoury, briny edge,” said co-owner and chef Michael Medeiros.
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Medeiros → like → edge
“We are a multicultural city with a diverse food scene and so many cultures have a form of pickles in their cuisine,” said Elyse Tsotsos, owner of Golden Pigeon Beer Hall, which does a brisk business in pickled eggs and bowls of house-made pickles.
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which → have → pickles
(She also named her dog Pickle.)
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She → name → dog
“With the added hype from social media, pickles have really secured their spot as a salty, acidic side or snack in bars and restaurants.”
Pickles are served
The craze runs the gamut from fast food to fine dining.
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craze → add → dining
A dill pickle wedge salad is making the rounds at fancy events courtesy of Daniel et Daniel Catering, which also rents out a pickle fountain — picture a champagne tower, but with sour green juice cascading over pickles ready to be plucked.
The Spirit of York serves up pickled artichokes with a turnip dip.
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Spirit → make → dip
Butter Chicken Factory slings an achari paneer tikka packed with Indian-pickle flavour.
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Factory → sling → flavour
The Park Hyatt Toronto’s sustainably-minded restaurant Joni is pickling chanterelles and white beets, and fermenting gooseberries for the fall menu.
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restaurant → pickle → menu
“It’s nice to see one of the oldest methods of preserving food finally having its moment,” said chef de cuisine Shaya Ilgacs.
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Ilgacs → ’ → moment
“Funny that it took us this long to realize it was never really out of style.”
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it → take → style
The rise of Picklegram and PickTok
The trend really kicked off during the pandemic, when many people spent a lot of time at home making sourdough bread and trying their hand at preserves, according to Dana McCauley, CEO of the Canadian Food Innovation Network.
uncertain
people → kick → Network
“It’s kept rolling from there as more people are engaging with those types of flavours,” she said.
asserted
she → keep → flavours
“It created that foundational curiosity and acceptance.”
asserted
It → create → curiosity
Canadians may be especially primed for the pickle renaissance, given our long-standing affair with dill pickle chips, McCauley added.
uncertain
McCauley → prim → chips
In Toronto, that’s boosted by our high Eastern European population and the recent influx of pickle-loving Ukrainians.
asserted
that → boost → Ukrainians
Social media has helped ferment the phenomenon in the past couple of years.
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media → help → years
People take to TikTok to show off their pickle tacos, pickle lemonade or the pickle cheesecake pop that went viral at this year’s CNE, while brands recruit influencers to tout ever more outlandish pickle products, like Prince Igor’s Extreme Pickle vodka and e.l.f. cosmetics’s Dill Glow Reviver lip balms.
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brands → take → vodka
At Picklefest, running at Henderson Brewery Oct. 3 to 4, enthusiasts can sample the usual jarred preserves, as well as more unusual interpretations.
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enthusiasts → run → preserves
Dipped Donuts is offering up doughnuts rolled in kimchi sugar, and pickle cheesecake doughnuts rolled in dill sugar, while Moonmilk is bringing their deep-fried pickle ice cream.
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Moonmilk → offer → cream
Mamajoun Pizza is making a pickle pie with white dill sauce.
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Pizza → make → sauce
You can even buy pickle candles.
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You → buy → candles
New innovations aside, Picklefest founder Adin Wener is confident the staple isn’t going anywhere soon.
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staple → go → ?
“Pickles existed before the word ‘trendy’ was a word,” he said.
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he → exist → ?
“When the bomb hits, it’ll be the cockroaches and the pickles that are left.”
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that → hit → ?
Inspired by the old-school pickle plate at venerable steak house Barberian’s, 416 Snack Bar has had a pickle plate on its menu for years.
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Bar → inspire → years
It changes seasonally but may include beets, carrots or cauliflower, each pickled differently, served on pebbled ice.
uncertain
It → change → ice
“Maybe because of how cutthroat the industry is, a lot of places’ menus skew fatty, to try and calm everyone’s tattered souls,” owner Adrian Ravinsky says.
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Ravinsky → skew → souls
The need to cut the grease of comfort food may help explain the pickle’s recent popularity, he says.
uncertain
he → cut → popularity
He hopes the craze sticks around, because of the probiotic boost of fermented vegetables.
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craze → hop → vegetables
The health benefits of pickled and fermented foods is indeed helping to drive the trend, said Culinary Concierge founder Christine Couvelier.
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Couvelier → pickle → trend
They’re also nostalgic and comforting.
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They → ’re → ?
“Memories have a lot to do with the popularity of food, and a lot of people will say, ‘Oh, I remember when my grandmother made pickles,’ or ‘I tried to make pickles myself.’
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I → have → pickles
That goes for chefs, too: Michael Angeloni proudly serves his nonna’s pickled green tomatoes at Notte Ristorante, while caterer Noushe’s signature dish is pickled apple torshi (a traditional Persian pickled-veg side) from a recipe by owner Iman Dadkhahi’s mom.
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dish → go → mom
“They show up a lot of places; they don’t just have to have to be on a gourmet or grocery shelf,” said Couvelier.
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Couvelier → show → shelf
That helps explain why the global pickle market will keep growing, she said; it’s anticipated to hit $28.15 billion USD this year, according to a Fortune Business Insights report.
uncertain
it → help → report
She’s tried pickle smoothies, pickle marshmallows and pickle cotton candy, and has been developing a pickle dust in her own test kitchen.
asserted
She → try → kitchen
The current pickle supremacy in Toronto may stem from the fact that two of the city’s hottest cuisines — Asian and Jewish — have a long history with the mouth-puckering marvel.
uncertain
two → stem → marvel
Mhel won Michelin raves for its dashi-pickled cucumbers, while Aburi Hana just relaunched with some pickle-forward dishes, including a steak tartare studded with smoked pickle, and a salad featuring bettarazuke, a traditional pickled daikon radish, and lotus root pickled in sweet vinegar and dashi.
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Hana → win → vinegar
…and 17 more, not listed.
The Aporia
