I bought some groceries yesterday and my wife helpfully put them away for me. Except she put a jar of “always keep refrigerated” Claussen pickles in the cupboard, which I discovered this morning.
Doing some googling, answers on whether they’re still good or not are all over the map. Apparently there’s a style of fresh or “quick” pickle that does indeed need to stay refrigerated. But some say that Claussen pickles are normal fermented pickles and the “keep refrigerated” thing is just marketing.
This is a never opened, sealed jar. The pickles are in a salty vinegar brine so I can’t imagine they could be in too bad shape. I’m thinking at the worst maybe they lose a bit of flavor or crispness. So am I in a pickle or not?
I don’t know for sure. It doesn’t seem to say exactly what they are on the label. They are Claussen brand kosher dill pickles, it says “always keep refrigerated” on the jar, and they are sold in a refrigerated section at the store.
If something won’t stay fresh overnight unrefrigerated in a factory-sealed container, then I don’t know what it is, but it’s sure as heck not anything that could be called a “pickle”.
I asked at the store about this very thing once. The dude that was stocking them in the refrigerator case said it was a marketing thing, the store played along, and the consumer should as well. He said they tasted better cold and consumption was quicker when kept refrigerated.
Also they do stay fresh longer by being refrigerated. We use buy Fresh Pickles all the time at a local flea market. Learned they last longer when chilled. Otherwise you end up with underwhelming not fresh pickles a lot quicker. Call it 2 days vs. a week.
They’re in a sealed jar, they’re fine. You won’t get sick from them. That’s the whole point of home canning which needs no refrigeration. Most likely the “Keep Refrigerated” label is there for legal purposes to cover the company.
Yeah, what you guys are saying in is pretty much what I figured. I didn’t think anything nasty could grow overnight in all that vinegar brine, at the worst they might lose a bit of flavor and crispness.
I think they’ve had time to chill since this morning, so I think I’ll have one now. If you guys don’t hear from me again, I guess we were all wrong…