Summer - time for Koolickles (potato chips, bread, butter, sandwich)

[Dirt Grinder]

Originally Posted by Debsi

Not exactly a ringing endorsement!

But they really did want to hate them.

[Dirt Grinder]

Originally Posted by lubby

Dirt Grinder could you post a picture of your Koolickles?

Here they are in all their neon glory...

[hellpaso]

Originally Posted by Dirt Grinder

Yep, it's that time of year...

• Buy a half-gallon of whole dills
• Pour the brine from the jar into a bowl
• Dissolve 1 packet of Cherry Kool-Aid and 1 cup of sugar in the brine
• Cut the dills in half, lengthwise, and return them to the jar
• Fill the jar with the neon-red brine
• Place jar in the fridge
• After one week, eat your koolickles during the hot summer days

What??? You've never heard of these Mississippi treats?

Then, there's that other Mississippi delicacy, the Delta Tamale, but that's another topic.

I actually think the koolickles are a recent phenomenon. I never heard of them (I grew up in the Memphis/Mississippi delta). I've since heard of them in the past few years, though.

Now I do know those Delta tamales! You eat those with ketchup & saltines--

[magicshark]

I just started a batch. I am so freaking excited, I am bouncing around the kitchen.
I was thinking this might be crazy but I tasted the brine mix. Oh my! It is so good!

[Dirt Grinder]

Originally Posted by magicshark

I just started a batch. I am so freaking excited, I am bouncing around the kitchen.
I was thinking this might be crazy but I tasted the brine mix. Oh my! It is so good!

Kool! Make sure they get to sit for a week before you sample them, and turn them daily to get them all saturated with that cherry flavoring.

Make sure you tell us how they are received. Everyone wants to hate them at first sight, but when they taste them it's often a different story.

[Debsi]

Originally Posted by Dirt Grinder

Kool! Make sure they get to sit for a week before you sample them, and turn them daily to get them all saturated with that cherry flavoring.

Make sure you tell us how they are received. Everyone wants to hate them at first sight, but when they taste them it's often a different story.

I don't want to hate them, but I still only want to make a small jar. I did a little googling on small-batch koolickles, and it seems the problem is that there really is very little Kool-Aid powder in a packet, so it's difficult to shrink the batch properly. I have an extra jar of baby dills - I may try to make some (accidentally) uber-strong baby koolickles.

[Debsi]

I started my 24 oz jar of baby dill koolickles tonight. I cut the pickles in half and used half a cup of sugar and half a packet of kool-aid, so they should come out pretty dark.

I wanted to use my favorite flavor, black cherry, but perhaps Kool-Aid's day in the sun is over. They only had grape and tropical punch flavored at Tom Thumb, so I went with the latter.

[Dirt Grinder]

Originally Posted by Debsi

I started my 24 oz jar of baby dill koolickles tonight. I cut the pickles in half and used half a cup of sugar and half a packet of kool-aid, so they should come out pretty dark.

I wanted to use my favorite flavor, black cherry, but perhaps Kool-Aid's day in the sun is over. They only had grape and tropical punch flavored at Tom Thumb, so I went with the latter.

Good luck with them. At least you'll be able to say you tried one. I can imagine Karl Pilkington's reaction to a Koolickle: "Oooh, that's bloody 'orrible."

[Debsi]

Originally Posted by Dirt Grinder

Good luck with them. At least you'll be able to say you tried one. I can imagine Karl Pilkington's reaction to a Koolickle: "Oooh, that's bloody 'orrible."

Yes, I'm certain he would be completely horrified -- which is the beauty of Karl anyway

[Debsi]

I kind of like it. I may even like it a lot on crackers, but I don't enjoy them plain. I had trouble finishing 1/2 of 1/2 of a baby dill koolickle just now (that's 1/4 of a baby dill pickle, for the mathematically challenged )

Review:

I am glad I made the smaller jar - it is still PLENTY of koolickes

Baby dills (cut in half) make a nice choice, though they are not so uniform looking as regular pickle spears

I really like them cut in slices with saltine crackers. I'll try with some cheese next time.