# What is the difference between a Kosher dill and a regular dill pickle? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 15, 2006, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-difference-between-a-kosher-dill-and-a-regular-dill-pickle/340027 "2006-01-15T02:08:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2006, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-difference-between-a-kosher-dill-and-a-regular-dill-pickle/340027/1 "2006-01-15T02:08:12Z")
I like a good dill pickle, tart and salty, with a high pucker factor. But I don’t care for Kosher dill pickles, and avoid them if given a choice. What causes Kosher dills to taste different from regular dill pickles, sometimes labeled “old fashioned” or “country” dills? ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2006, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-difference-between-a-kosher-dill-and-a-regular-dill-pickle/340027/2 "2006-01-15T05:27:30Z")
Laura Brandt writes, “Kosher dills have a more robust flavor than regular dill pickles due to the addition of garlic and other spices to the brine.” ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2006, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-difference-between-a-kosher-dill-and-a-regular-dill-pickle/340027/3 "2006-01-15T05:48:07Z")
Aren’t some pickles cured in vinegar? Kosher, at least, are brine. ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2006, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-difference-between-a-kosher-dill-and-a-regular-dill-pickle/340027/4 "2006-01-15T05:49:52Z")
Kosher dills have a little bit of the end cut off. ;j ---
**Author:** ![Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/779978/32.png) [@Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amazon_Floozy_Goddess)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2006, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-difference-between-a-kosher-dill-and-a-regular-dill-pickle/340027/5 "2006-01-15T07:55:51Z")
Regular dills, kosher dills, I love 'em all. Mmm mmm mmm. Yeah. Now I want a pickle. But I don’t have any! Damn. Damnity damn damn! ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2006, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-difference-between-a-kosher-dill-and-a-regular-dill-pickle/340027/6 "2006-01-15T14:22:28Z")
I believe a kosher “dill” is a misnomer. I’ve never had a kosher pickle that had dill in it. I think that salt and garlic are the main seasonings of a kosher pickle. Not that anyone asked for it, but it’s extremely easy to make “half-done kosher” pickles at home: Make a brine of 1/2 cup of salt to three cups of water. Crush four or five cloves of garlic and toss them in, as well as several peppercorns and a bay leaf. Slice four pickling cucumbers lengthwise in half. Add them to the brine. Refrigerate this for a couple of days. This makes luscious, crispy deli-style koshers to have with your tuna sandwich or cheese and cracker lunch. ---
**Author:** ![BoringDad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ad7895/32.png) [@BoringDad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoringDad)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2006, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-difference-between-a-kosher-dill-and-a-regular-dill-pickle/340027/7 "2006-01-15T14:52:07Z")
> [@Fear Itself](#): > > I like a good dill pickle, tart and salty, with a high pucker factor. But I don’t care for Kosher dill pickles, and avoid them if given a choice. What causes Kosher dills to taste different from regular dill pickles, sometimes labeled “old fashioned” or “country” dills? Kosher pickles don’t have bacon and cheese covering them. It’s either that or they lack Polysorbates, derived from animal fat according to The [Master](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_351.html). ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2006, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-difference-between-a-kosher-dill-and-a-regular-dill-pickle/340027/8 "2006-01-15T15:02:34Z")
It might be more accurate to say that they are \*koshered \*pickles: koshering is a process where things are treated with kosher (large crystal) salt. Dill pickles are primarilly preserved through high amounts of vinegar. While kosher(ed) dills may have a bit of vinegar for taste, they rely on thir higher salt for preservation. Compare salt/vinegar ratios in these recipes for [dill pickles](http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~bcohen/cucumbers/recipes/pickles/dill_pickles.html) and [kosher dill pickles](http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~bcohen/cucumbers/recipes/pickles/kosher_pickles.html). ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2006, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-difference-between-a-kosher-dill-and-a-regular-dill-pickle/340027/9 "2006-01-15T15:04:04Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Compare salt/vinegar ratios in these recipes for [dill pickles](http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~bcohen/cucumbers/recipes/pickles/dill_pickles.html) and [kosher dill pickles](http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~bcohen/cucumbers/recipes/pickles/kosher_pickles.html). (Both of which are “kosher”, by the way, as they are all vegetable products.) ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2006, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-difference-between-a-kosher-dill-and-a-regular-dill-pickle/340027/10 "2006-01-15T17:43:10Z")
I always thought it was the garlic, I sometimes hear them referred to as Garlic Dills. Can anyone explain why the pickled you get from the deli or some restaurants served with your sandwich are so much better than anything you can buy in the store? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2006, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-difference-between-a-kosher-dill-and-a-regular-dill-pickle/340027/11 "2006-01-15T17:47:20Z")
Might have something to do with the processing needed to meet Federal regs on canned foods. On the other hand, it might just be tha atmosphere of the deli that makes them taste so good. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2006, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-difference-between-a-kosher-dill-and-a-regular-dill-pickle/340027/12 "2006-01-15T19:19:44Z")
The ones you get in a jar are usually boiled as part of the canning process. Vlasic brand, available in the refrigerator case, prides itself on not being boiled, and so better tasting, like a deli pickle.