On a lighter note

I've discovered the mysteries of the special condiment known as "pickle." This is not "pickles" as Americans know them (cucumbers preserved in spiced brine, and always used in the plural unless you're just eating one) but something totally different. I have yet to taste it but my curiosity is definitely whetted.

After a little bit of online research, I find that pickle is not just a cultural phenomenon but is actually considered a British cultural icon-- namely a favored brand, Branston pickle.


At the grocery store earlier I spotted a plastic squeeze bottle of Branston "smooth pickle" and I looked through the plastic to see what it could be. I saw black mud, slightly lumpy, opaque, and sludgy.


The ingredients (Wikipedia lists) include rutabaga (known as swede), onion, cauliflower, gherkins (are these pickles?) and possibly carrot and beet, mixed with vinegar, tomato, apples, and dates with spices and mustard. Presumably the "smooth" pickle consists of all these things pureed together.

What on earth this could be used for, I had no idea. However, enthusiastic online reports tell me that it is amazingly delicious with cheddar cheese in sandwiches and that Catherine Zeta Jones never eats a sandwich without Branston's in it. So...

Now I just have to decide between chunky, smooth, or sandwich variety--not to mention the dozens of other kinds of pickled vegetable and chutney that are on the grocery shelves here. Baby beetroot? Sweet piccalilli? Ploughmans tangy tomato pickle? So many to choose from!