# The brine that's leftover in a jar of store-bought pickles-- do you do anything with it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [June 4, 2024, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-brine-thats-leftover-in-a-jar-of-store-bought-pickles-do-you-do-anything-with-it/1002459 "2024-06-04T00:04:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2024, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-brine-thats-leftover-in-a-jar-of-store-bought-pickles-do-you-do-anything-with-it/1002459/41 "2024-06-04T21:11:39Z")
I use it to remove oil stains from the driveway. I mean, who would think to drink that? Down the drain! ---
**Author:** ![icantdraw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3ec8ea/32.png) [@icantdraw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/icantdraw)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2024, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-brine-thats-leftover-in-a-jar-of-store-bought-pickles-do-you-do-anything-with-it/1002459/42 "2024-06-04T21:41:55Z")
I add an ounce or two when I make a (Canadian) Caesar. Vodka, Clamato Juice, Worcestershire, lime, horseradish, salt, pepper, tobasco, PICKLE JUICE, pickled bean for garnish. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2024, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-brine-thats-leftover-in-a-jar-of-store-bought-pickles-do-you-do-anything-with-it/1002459/43 "2024-06-05T15:23:15Z")
Can we expand it to olive brine? I first sipped some out of curiosity while in college, and loved it. Over the course of one day I just sipped away all the brine from an 8 oz. jar of green pimento olives. The next morning I was horrified to discover I’d gained TEN POUNDS. (Luckily the weight went away over the next day.) About sweet pickle brine: after I finish a jar, I add in 1/4 cup of sugar and 1/4 cup of vinegar (usually red wine, sometimes apple cider) before refilling the jar with slivered onions and sliced cukes. Give the jar an occasional shake, and bingo! excellent tangy/sweet pickles. You can really only do it once per jar of pickles. Whatever the other spices are, their flavor is used up after that and the re-makes just don’t cut it. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2024, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-brine-thats-leftover-in-a-jar-of-store-bought-pickles-do-you-do-anything-with-it/1002459/44 "2024-06-05T15:51:14Z")
10 lbs in one day? That’s amazing. I gotta remember that. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2024, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-brine-thats-leftover-in-a-jar-of-store-bought-pickles-do-you-do-anything-with-it/1002459/45 "2024-06-05T16:30:44Z")
Uh, you realize that wasn’t ten pounds of anything useful gained or lost? Not muscles or even fat. I was just retaining a lot of extra water to offset the megadose of salt I’d taken on. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2024, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-brine-thats-leftover-in-a-jar-of-store-bought-pickles-do-you-do-anything-with-it/1002459/46 "2024-06-05T17:16:05Z")
Yeah. I have occasional need of having extra weight. Like going to the diabetic clinic. I’m always in jinx with them because I’m underweight. The lecture? I’ve committed it to memory. Would be nice not to have to listen to it, just once. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2024, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-brine-thats-leftover-in-a-jar-of-store-bought-pickles-do-you-do-anything-with-it/1002459/47 "2024-06-05T20:52:04Z")
> [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > Can we expand it to olive brine? And how about the “brine” from Trader Joe’s _Hot & Sweet Jalapeños_, made of “a concoction of sugar, vinegar, salt, jalapeño puree, garlic, and a whole red chili pepper”? Man, that stuff is tasty. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2024, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-brine-thats-leftover-in-a-jar-of-store-bought-pickles-do-you-do-anything-with-it/1002459/48 "2024-06-05T21:14:15Z")
When I make my Hawaiian style macaroni salad, I always use leftover pickle brine on the cooked macaroni and leave it to absorb over night. That way the macaroni itself is not a bland filler in the salad. Everything is tasty. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2024, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-brine-thats-leftover-in-a-jar-of-store-bought-pickles-do-you-do-anything-with-it/1002459/49 "2024-06-05T21:34:46Z")
> [@susan](#): > > Sip as an anti-nausea intervention. I’ve been sober a few years now, but I used to be a helluva drinker. Works pretty well as a hangover medication - even better as a preventative - drink a bit before going to bed. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2024, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-brine-thats-leftover-in-a-jar-of-store-bought-pickles-do-you-do-anything-with-it/1002459/50 "2024-06-05T22:12:39Z")
> [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > Can we expand it to olive brine? By all means! Use your brains to expand the uses of brine! (Would that be _brain_storming or _brine_storming?) My first husband’s mother used olive brine instead of straight vinegar in salad dressings. One of the best tips I got from that marriage. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-brine-thats-leftover-in-a-jar-of-store-bought-pickles-do-you-do-anything-with-it/1002459.md?page=2)