Whenever a pickle jar comes to an end, you’re now left with a container of green juice giving off that pungent vinegar smell. What do you do with it? There are certainly some great cocktails to make with leftover pickle juice. You won’t go through a lot of brine that way, though, unless you’re having guests who (importantly) all enjoy the taste of pickles. In fact, there’s one of many very simple ways to use leftover pickle juice, especially if you exercise a lot: You should drink it straight.
In a pinch, pickle juice is a decent substitute for energy drinks. For one thing, it’s exceptionally good at keeping you hydrated. Sure, it contains water, although water isn’t always the best drink for staying hydrated by itself. But pickle juice also offers a good amount of sodium and potassium. On a sports drink bottle, you’d find both of these, and the companies which market those drinks call them by another name: electrolytes. That term refers to any substance which your body can use to conduct the electrical charges it needs to contract your muscles. If anything, pickle juice contains more electrolytes than many sports drinks (although you shouldn’t overdo it). On top of all that, some research suggests that pickle juice seems to help soothe muscle cramps.
If pickle juice is right for your body, there are several ways to drink it
There are a few drawbacks with pickle juice. Keep in mind that pickle juice is acidic because vinegar itself is highly acidic. If you have heartburn from acid reflux, then pickle juice might worsen those symptoms. It’s also not recommended if you have high blood pressure, because of all the sodium it contains. Otherwise, so long as you’re watching your sodium intake, pickle juice can be nutritious. In fact, fermented pickles can be beneficial to your gut health because they contain probiotics like lactobacillus. Check the jar label, though, because not all pickles are fermented and thus won’t contain probiotics.
If all of that sounds appealing, there still might be one problem: What if you don’t like pickle juice? After all, it’s intensely sour. If it’s a hot day and you’re sweating after a workout, pouring some pickle juice on the rocks will dilute that pungency as the ice cubes melt. Also, look into different types of pickles with different flavors, all of which will seep into the juice: Dill pickles are herbal and slightly spiced, and sweet pickles (such as bread and butter pickles) are flavored with sugar. If you’re not big on energy drinks or extra-sugary sports drinks, it might be worth trying out some different pickle varieties to see if a certain kind goes down easy.
