Give Your Pickles a French Twist With This Classic Cornichon Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What makes a pickle a cornichon? ›

Cornichons are small pickles, usually about the length of one finger. You can differentiate them from mini dill pickles by the bumpy skins, a natural feature of the cucumber varieties from which cornichons are made. Aside from the vegetable variety, the defining trait of cornichons is how they are pickled.

It is, of course, the gherkin. (Sorry if I've offended the sensibilities of anyone who feels that a gherkin has no place near a burger or near any food anywhere ever.) Interestingly, 'cornichon' is also old-fashioned French slang for 'idiot' (or 'nincompoop', if you will.

Use Calcium Chloride

Sea salt is sodium chloride. In this case, we're talking about calcium chloride! These little granules, which dilute quickly in water, are THE trick to crunchy pickles, as they prevent the enzymes from softening the pickle during lacto-fermentation.

For a quick and easy way to help ensure crisp pickles: soak cucumbers in ice water for 4 to 5 hours before pickling. This is a safer method for making crisp pickles. Using lime, or calcium hydroxide, in solution for soaking cucumbers changes the amount of acid in the cucumber tissue.

If a recipe calls for cornichons, it is referring to the dilled variety of gherkins. If a recipe calls for cornichons and you don't have any, substitute small slivers of dill pickles. Remember, all cornichons are gherkins, not all gherkins are cornichons.

Those pickles are called cornichons (pronounced "KOR-nee-shons"), and they are exactly what they seem to be: tiny pickles, or, as the English call them, gherkins. Their tart, mildly sweet flavor makes them the ideal garnish to serve with classic charcuterie items such as pâtés, terrines, cured sausages, and the like.

The French call them cornichons, and they're sold under the same name in the US, but the English call them gherkins. These delicious little pickles are great on an appetizer plate, chopped up in deviled eggs, and added to sandwiches.

Burgenland's Gurken Prinz pickles/gherkins/cornichons have the perfect balance of sweetness and acidity. Note that these are smaller than dill pickles and larger than most gherkins/cornichons.

Cornichons are a very small variety of cucumber that's been pickled. Like gherkins only smaller. You'll usually find them served with smoked fish and meat, and they are tasty little blighters.

You will need a recipe, most of which will tell you to salt your sliced cucumbers and let them sit for about 3 hours (more is better). This salt treatment draws water out of the cucumbers and flavors them, so it's critically important.

What makes a pickle more sour? ›

To make pickles more sour, you can add more salt to the brine. Many foods can be pickled. Commonly pickled foods include cabbage (called "sauerkraut") and pigs' feet. What we all know as a pickle, though, is a pickled cucumber.

They act as natural preservatives, helping to maintain the firmness and texture of fruits and vegetables during the pickling process. When added to pickling brine, bay leaves infuse the cucumbers with these tannins, ensuring they remain delightfully crunchy even after months of storage.

The point of placing raw cucumber slices on the eyes is to reduce puffiness and dark circles. They're also used to give the skin a fresh, dewy look. Cucumber extracts are also used in cosmetics like eye creams and gels for the same reasons. As raw cucumbers are teeming with water, the slices feel cool on your eyes.

Cool 10 minutes off the heat before using to brine the fruit or veg of your choosing. Also, bear in mind that this recipe is dubbed the Master Pickle Brine for a reason: Not because it's the pickle brine to end all pickle brines, but rather because it's a jumping-off point for you to riff to your heart's content.

Top the cucumbers with a few stacked lids or a resealable plastic bag filled with extra brine to keep them submerged. Place the airlock on top and secure it to the jar with the band. Store in a cool area (between 60 and 75F [15 and 24C]) for 3 to 5 days, or until the cucumbers taste like pickles.

However, cornichons are tiny baby gherkins, and have more flavor. Cornichons are about the size of your pinky finger that are about an inch and half in length. They're nubby and bumpy, tart and crunchy.

Taste: Gherkins and pickles can be sweet or savory. Gherkins are typically flavored with garlic and dill, but they can also be sweet. French gherkins, known as cornichons, are flavored with dill and sometimes feature additional herbs and spices, such as tarragon or pepper.

The French call them cornichons, and they're sold under the same name in the US, but the English call them gherkins. These delicious little pickles are great on an appetizer plate, chopped up in deviled eggs, and added to sandwiches. If you'd like to try your hand at making your own cornichons, here is a recipe.

While a pickle can be made from a large variety of food items, in US, Canada, and Australia, it is a word used to refer to pickled cucumbers. Gherkin is a term that is used for pickled cucumber in UK and the rest of Europe. Gherkin is made with very small cucumbers (1-3 inches in size).