Oh sweet Lord, It's Pickle Day!

Peter Piper picked a patch of pickles... is not at all how the actual rhyme goes, but it makes for an interesting hook, yes?

So it just so happens that November 14th, National Pickle Day. (...I cannot believe that we have classes today. I have to celebrate, don't they know that...?) Yes, an entire day has been often devoted to different foods, and today's is pickles, or pickled cucumbers.

"Cucumbers were probably first pickled 4400 years ago in Mesopotamia. In India, pickles were well known by the Vedic period. Cucumber pickling might have spread through the Jewish diaspora.

The pickling process was also known to the Ancient Greeks. Aristotle is reported to have praised pickled cucumbers for their healing effects. Julius Caesar's soldiers ate pickled cucumbers as health aids; many other brine-soaked foods were part of daily life in Ancient Rome. Cucumber pickling remained widespread across the Levant and Maghreb regions, where it is still very popular today. A pickle slice is commonly referred to as a 'chip'.

Pickled cucumbers became popular in the United States due to the influence of the cuisine of Eastern European immigrants." (wikipedia.org)

It is well known that pickles are a staple in any Jewish deli, but especially welcome and unique are the half-picked pickles. These are lighter green and are softer than fully picked pickles. I prefer these, I don't know about you, because I can't stand any taste of salt being too strong on my palette, and these halfers are a great balance between cucumbers, which I do not like, and full-on pickles, which I do like, just not as much as half-pickled ones.

And I have to add that pickle juice, because of its sodium content, is great for curing sports cramps during those long training practices. It's also a great thing to chug if you want to throw up and never be able to smell pickles again without getting queasy. Seriously, I know a guy who chugged pickle juice... it wasn't pretty.

Yes, pickles are one of the oldest foods on this earth, seeing as brining has been a good way to preserve food that would otherwise go bad, a technique older than God. Of course, not everything pickles well to be preserved. You've heard of pickled herring, pickled pickles, and pickled pigs feet as well as pickled eggs and countless other disgusting foods to take well with brining. It is without doubt that many of these foods no one has ever tried. I know I've never tried pickled pigs feet. I cannot honestly see the appeal. I'll try anything once but, keeping it real, its pickled pigs feet. The feet of pigs having been soaked in a salty bath for weeks. WTF, Rome? WTF?

Anyway, go out and celebrate by getting some slices of pickles at your local deli counter at your local dining hall. Do it. It's good.

Cheers! (Oh, and if you didn't read, tomorrow November 15 marks the night that Purdue dining halls has its Thanksgiving feast. Do it. It'll be like every other meal, plus apple and pumpkin pies, aaaaand cranberry sauce. Mmmm...)