When you go to grab some bread and butter pickles (and be sure you aren’t accidentally grabbling sweet pickles which are different in flavor, even though they’re also a tasty grocery basket addition), you want to get the best of the bunch. A good bread and butter pickle should have a balance of sugar, salt, and vinegar, but still be sweet-leaning. Onions and other spices like mustard seeds also bring depth and nuance to the flavor package. But what happens when the balance goes awry? Well, you get our pick for the worst bread and butter pickles: Great Gherkins.
On our list of 11 store-bought bread and butter pickles, we had some real stand-out stars and some tragic flops. Great Gherkins commits the cardinal bread and butter sin of having an imbalanced flavor profile leaning way too far into the sweet side. In fact, biting into one of these pickle chips is almost reminiscent of digging into a candied apple. It totally lacks the balancing components of vinegar and salt, and you can’t even taste the mustard seeds despite the pickles swimming in them. Other ingredients common to bread and butter pickles, like ground cloves and red pepper flakes, are also distinctly absent from the palate, leaving us wanting for more.
How Great Gherkins fails to stack up to the competition
Not only does Great Gherkins fall flat in terms of flavor, but it also leaves much to be desired in terms of texture. A good bread and butter pickle should have a decent crunch, and Great Gherkins is definitely closer to mush. Some of our other picks from brands like Mt. Olive or Vlasic have noticeably refreshing crunch factors, and the latter manages to keep its crisp texture intact even in spear form. On top of that, pickles in our top five bring you complex, nuanced flavors that marry garlic, dill, vinegar, and other spices, and our top pick (Boar’s Head, for the curious) packs a punch of spice whilst also balancing sweetness and tang. Compared to the frankly forgettable Great Gherkins, there are far better options to pick, whether you’re looking for a snacking chip or something to upgrade your favorite grilled cheese sandwich with.
If you’re looking to pinch pennies, you’re better off looking elsewhere, too. Sure, it’s a budget brand that’s meant to save you money, but you really get what you pay for in this case. Many of the other brands on our list like Vlasic or even Great Value offer decently comparable price points with better pickles, so set that jar of Great Gherkins back on the shelf unless you want a pickle-flavored dessert instead of an actual bread and butter chip.
