Home   |   LCS Prints Store   |   About Me   |   FAQ   

Monday, February 10, 2014

On Wonder and Fried Dill Pickles



For health reasons, I’m not huge on fried food.  Oh, I love it all right.  But mostly I try to stay away, except when it comes to fried dill pickles.  They are on the trendiest restaurant menus up here these days, though the Deep South discovered them first.  When I first heard of them, the idea horrified me.  Pickles are supposed to be sprinkled on top of a sandwich, not battered and tossed into hot oil.   Bletch.  But a couple of years ago, at a diner across the border in New Hampshire (a state often referred to as the south of the north), three fried pickle chips arrived beside our sandwich orders, and we nibbled.  Edit that.  We nibbled the first one and fought over the rest.  Now, we order them where ever we can. (Cholesterol check, please!)
 
The thing is, this post isn’t supposed to be about fried pickles per se.  It’s supposed to be about wonder, and creativity and who the heck was the smarty pants who first thought to coat a pickle and drop it into the deep fat fryer?  Once, I heard an Au Jus sandwich was invented when a server accidentally dropped a roast beef sandwich into meat juices and the patron was in too much of a rush to wait for a replacement.  Are all good things accidents, or calculated experiments by people smarter than me?

I mean, I love to cook.  But, tell me.  Who discovered baking soda makes cakes rise?  According to my Google research, it’s been used since ancient times, but in the form of Bicarbonate of Soda since the eighteenth century. Before that, Potassium Carbonate (today, the main component of fertilizer) was made by leaching wood ashes and then evaporating the solution in iron pots, leaving a white alkaline residue called "pearl ash," a refined form of "pot ash." (Mmm.  How tasty.  If I do more research am I going to find out they made soap out of this stuff, too?)   What possessed some entrepreneurial pioneer to collect the deposits, add some to a batter, mix in sour milk for the acid, and expect to come out with a leavened cake?  

Ah, yum? 

For that matter, who imagined wheat seeds could be ground down to flour, mixed with wet ingredients and baked?  Or, take it further.  A kajillion years ago, hunter gatherers ate their prey. Which caveman discovered it tasted better roasted? Oh dear. I Googled that one.  Probably Homo Erectus after a forest fire killed animals and man decided they tasted better charred.  (The world's first barbeque. Suddenly, I’m contemplating vegetarianism.) 

There's a history class here, I know.  I can look up bread or baking or cakes and find out about everything I need to know.  Including fried pickles.   

Oh heck.  It's snowing today and I've got nothing better to do.  Hey, Wikipedia?

“Fried Dill Pickles were popularized by Bernell "Fatman" Austin in 1963 at the Duchess Drive In located in Atkins, Arkansas.  The Fatman's Recipe is only known to his family and used once each year at the annual Picklefest in Atkins, held each May.”  

At least pickles come from vegetables.  Oh, rats!  Google again.  I just learned a cucumber is a fruit. 

Whatever.  Thanks, Mr. Austin.  I owe you one.


12 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I don't eat fried foods either. You're right that fried pickles are awesome though.
Who thought to deep fry a candy bar?
What brave soul though to try eating the egg? It came out of a chicken's butt!

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

LOL. I stay away from fried also. I just heard of fried pickles a few days ago when my husband told me one of our sons introduced him to them a few weeks ago. I still haven't tried them.
I wonder too who thought to do some things. Genius.

Robin said...

Yes, I do wonder. What makes people think of such things? It is horrifying when you understand how something started. Ashes. That is the first thing that comes to mind as the necessary ingredient for a tasty meal. Blech.

As for frying... I have lived in the south. They will fry just about anything here. So, given that, it isn't all that surprising someone dropped a pickle in the fryer.

Linda King said...

Amazing! I've never heard of fried dill pickles or an Au Jus sandwich!I'm not sure I even know what a dill pickle is - maybe what we call a gherkin over here in the UK? Will have to Google that one! I really enjoyed your post - how things ever came to be cooked the way they are is so fascinating :-) (for the record, I can't imagine eating a deep fried gherkin in batter, but you've kind of made me fancy one!)

Old Kitty said...

It's like who on earth decided to coat a chocolate bar with batter and deep fry it!??! LOL! That's still going strong btw! Inventiveness is totally the word! Take care
x

Dianne K. Salerni said...

I used to teach students from a science text book that said something like, "Through trial and error, people discovered that plants had medicinal uses, although some were poisonous."

Trial and error. Huh. Let's eat some plants and see what they do to us.

Jennifer Shirk said...

I've never tried a fried pickle but it SOUNDS AWESOME. So maybe it's best I don't try it. LOL

It's funny, I often think about how foods start too. Like who decided it would be a good idea to try moldy cheese (blue cheese)? :)

J.B. Chicoine said...

I will admit, the idea doesn't horrify me so much as intrigues me-- I'm an experimental cook and eater. Just the same, if I were going to experiment on any fried food (which I rarely consume) I would probably go for something more decadent sounding ... then again ...

Carol Kilgore said...

I've never eaten a fried dill pickle. But I love fried chicken.

mshatch said...

Love this. I've often wondered who invented certain dishes. Like ice cream. Who thought to mix those particular ingredients? Or coffee...what made someone decide to ground the beans and add hot water?

Hmm, I guess you know what some of my favorites are - lol.

SEO Star Software House said...

I don't even know how I ended up here, but I thought this post was good. I don't know who you are but certainly you are going to a famous blogger Cardsharing Server if you aren't already Cheers!I must admit that this is one great insight. It surely gives a company the opportunity to get in on the ground floor and really take part in creating something special and tailored to their needs.

Anonymous said...

Just remember two things about fruits: (1) fruits are really subsets of vegetables, and (2) it doesn't mean that they're unhealthy or too sweet!