The Bottom Line: Delicious facts about pickles!
The Full Story:
- According to the U.S. Supreme Court, pickles are technically a “fruit” of the vine (like tomatoes), but they are generally known as a vegetable.
- Pickles have been around since ancient times, although there is some disagreement as to when exactly in history people started eating them. Some believe the first pickle was created in Mesopotamia in 2400 B.C.E. Others believe it was as early as 2030 B.C.E.
- The phrase “in a pickle” was first introduced by Shakespeare in his play, The Tempest. The quotes read, “How cam’st thou in this pickle?” and “I have been in such a pickle”
- Cleopatra ate pickles because she believed they were one of the things that helped her stay beautiful.
- Approximately 100,000 to 125,000 acres are devoted to growing pickling cucumbers in the United States.
- In the United States, pickles are made in 30 of the 50 states with Michigan and North Carolina making the most.
- ‘Kool-aid pickles’ are made by soaking dill pickles in strong Kool-Aid and are very popular in parts of Mississippi.
- A town in Michigan that claims to be the Christmas Pickle Capital of the World holds an annual pickle parade led by the Grand Dillmeister.
- You can hear the crunch of a good pickle at 10 paces.
- During WWII the U.S. Government tagged 40 percent of all pickle production for
- Americans consume more than nine-pounds of pickles per person annually.
- In Connecticut in order for a pickle to officially be considered a pickle, it must bounce.