I have to admit, when Chapelboro approached me and asked me if I was interested in writing a monthly Foodie column, I was a bit surprised. This Foodie thing is still relatively new to me.
A year ago, I founded the Chapel Hill Carrboro Foodies Facebook Group. Since then, the group has grown into a positive, interactive community with over 7,000 members — and it continues to grow larger every day! I never envision myself doing something like this, and yet, here I am. It turns out I’m right where I’m supposed to be.
We chose to name the column “Snacks and the City” as a play on words from the award-winning HBO romantic comedy-drama series, “Sex and the City.” The show followed the lives of four independent women who lived in New York City and the main character, Carrie Bradshaw, wrote a weekly column in a fictional newspaper that provided the narration for each episode. Not only do we share the same name (Carrie), but we share the same obsession with fashion… and shoes! We thought it might be fun to use our discussions in the Chapel Hill Carrboro Foodies Facebook group to create a casual, monthly Foodie column.
Recently, one of the ongoing discussions we’ve had in the Foodie group is a dialogue about dill pickles. From deep fried pickles to pickle popcorn to pickle cotton candy, pickle-flavored foods are popping up everywhere. If you do a search for “dill pickle” on Amazon, you’ll get well over 1,000 results back. Clearly, pickles are a big deal.
According to most estimations, pickles got their start about 4,000 years ago when Mesopotamian people began soaking cucumbers in acidic brine as an effort to preserve them. Many explorers during that time traveled with pickles because they could survive long journeys with relative ease.
By the nineteenth century, though, the Heinz Company had practically cornered the pickle market thanks to a consistent product and some very clever marketing. Fair-goers at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair were promised a “free gift” if they visited the Heinz booth and sampled their products. That gift was a simple, small, green pickle pin — and by the end of the fair, Heinz had handed out well over a million pins. They repeated the promotion in 1896, 1898, and 1939, making it one of the most successful marketing campaigns in U.S. history – especially considering its time.
It’s clear that Americans love pickles. On average, we consume an estimated 2.5 million pounds of pickles each year. Around 2017, a pickle trend began to evolve on the internet – not too different from the bacon craze that was responsible for everything from bacon-flavored soda to bacon-branded Band-Aids – and about a year later, fast food giant Sonic introduced a neon green pickle juice slush. Despite mixed reviews, the pickle slush was wildly popular and it became an obvious social media sensation. The flavor of the pickle slush was not what you might expect, however. It was best described as a refreshing, ice-cold drink that crossed the line between sweet pickles and dill pickles.
Since I am a huge fan of dill pickles, I wanted to share a short series of posts about dill pickle-flavored recipes. The first one was my very own recipe for Pickle Butter. When it comes to recipes, this one is about as easy as it gets, but the end result is a tangy, savory spread that can transform a meal.
You can melt it and brush Pickle Butter on anything from burgers to fish and, personally, I prefer to spread it on crackers or crusty bread for snacking. A local Chapel Hill restaurant used my recipe to create their own, proprietary blend of pickle butter. They created a sandwich special called “Carrie’s Kickin’ Pickle Po’ Boy” and it was made with pickle butter, a generous portion of fried pickle sticks, and authentic Leidenheimer bread. It was a unique combination of flavors and I hope to see it on their menu again soon.
Next, I wanted to experiment with a recipe for grilled dill pickle-flavored chicken wings. I started by marinating the wings in dill pickle juice for at least three hours. Once marinated, I brushed the 
wings with a combination of olive oil, finely chopped dill, garlic powder, chili powder, and black pepper. These wings have some serious dill pickle flavor, but if you really want to hit a home run, you can pair them with a dill pickle dipping sauce. Simply combine mayonnaise, finely chopped dill, finely chopped garlic, pepper, and pickle juice.
For those of you who just can’t seem to get enough, Mount Olive here in North Carolina hosts the N.C. Pickle Festival each spring. Last year, they celebrated the 33rd annual festival and although they thought they’d find themselves in a pickle with rain forecasted throughout the weekend, the weather still allowed for plenty of fun and activities. Attendees listened to live music, participated in a 5K race, and even competed in a pickle eating contest. Unfortunately, the 2020 Pickle Fest was cancelled due to the current health crisis, but mark your calendars for next year. You know I’ll be there!
(photo via Trevor Holman Photography)
Join Carrie Brogren — founder of the Chapel Hill Carrboro Foodies group on Facebook — as she continues positive, fun and interactive community discussion on local food. From home-cooked meals to fantastic local restaurants, from around the corner to around the world, you’ll find a little something to be excited about in “Snacks and the City” on Chapelboro.com!
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