We tried to get a pickle bouquet kit from Grillo’s; the kit was supposed to be available on their merch website from January 28th and delivered before Valentine’s Day.
Instead, a notice that “This product is unavailable” greeted us. Does that mean it’s sold out? A factory delay?
Whatever; the page lists the contents, so we picked them up at a home improvement store.
Why a pickle bouquet for Valentine’s Day? Because some people would rather have tangy pickles than sweets.
There are also 14 other holidays below where a pickle bouquet would fit right in.
You can create the bouquet in a nice vase, pitcher, or Mason jar and make that part of the gift, or can use something sustainable like a re-purposed large jar or coffee can*.
You won’t believe the number of pickle holidays where this concept may come in handy.
> Check out the pickle holidays below.
> Also below: why pickles are classified as condiments.
> The history of pickles.
> The different types of pickles: a photo glossary.
RECIPE: PICKLE BOUQUET
We tied a wide red satin ribbon around the vase instead; not only is it reusable, but more attractive than the tissue paper.
You can enjoy it with a Pickle Martini (photos #6, #7, #8):
A regular Martini with a garnish of cornichons and pickled onions.
A Dirty Martini using pickle brine instead of olive brine in this Dirty Martini recipe.
They are also popular garnishes for Bloody Marys (photos #9 and #10).
Ingredients
For The Container
Vase or other heavy container*
Foam base
Tissue paper or decorative ribbon
Floral filler (we used bunches of fresh dill and basil†)
15 bamboo skewers (length and number depend on container size)
Optional: glass marbles to weight the jar*
Optional: 12” card holder and gift card
Cucumber Pickles & Other Pickles
If you know what types of pickles the recipient does (and doesn’t) like, great: You can buy (or make) as many types as fit the bill. Use spears instead of whole large pickles, which are too heavy for an arrangement like this.
Dill spears
Hot spears
Half sours
Sweet gherkins
Cornichons
Pickle chips
Add Color:
Cherry peppers or peppadews
Mini bell peppers
Skewers of cherry tomatoes and bocconcini (mozzarella balls)
Plus:
Stuffed olives
Cocktail onions
Other pickles: garlic, jalapeños, okra, pepperoncini
Preparation
1. WASH the container, rinse the foam base and the skewers. Fit the foam base into the vase.
2. SET OUT the food ingredients and blot the brine from them. Plan how to arrange them on the skewers (we actually sketched this out). Up to this point, you can wrap the skewers in plastic and keep them in the fridge until you’re ready to assemble the bouquet.
3. ADD the filled skewers to the vase. Fill in the spaces with herbs.
A YEAR OF PICKLE HOLIDAYS
February, 1st Week: Shape Up With Pickles Time
February, 2nd Week: Pickle Time Week
May: National Vinegar Month
June: Cucumber Month
October: National Pickled Peppers Month
November 14: National Pickle Day
November 30: National Mason Jar Day
Related Holidays
March 10: National Pack Your Lunch Day
June 10: National Herbs and Spices Day
June 27: National Onion Day
August 8: National Pickleball Day
September 4: National Spice Blend Day
September 23: National Apple Cider Vinegar Day
November 1: National Vinegar Day
WHY ARE PICKLES CLASSIFIED AS CONDIMENTS?
A pickle is often considered a condiment because it enhances the flavor of foods, rather than being a main or side dish itself. Think of its qualities:
Flavor enhancement: Pickles add tangyness, acidity, and crunch to dishes, complementing the main flavors.
Used sparingly: While whole pickles are often eaten as snacks, sliced pickles, relish, chopped pickles, etc. are most often used as condiments—for burgers, sandwiches, hot dogs, and in salads. They are eaten in small portions.
Always think beyond cucumber pickles: See the footnote‡ below for how different pickled vegetables are used.
Recipe: 2-Hour Pickled Vegetables.
You can also pickle fruits:
2-Hour Pickles (in vinegar): crisp fruits like Granny Smith apples and quince; cherries and strawberries in balsamic vinegar. You can also use fruits in the “brined” category; but they’ll have stronger flavor when brined.
Traditional Pickling (in vinegar): tangy, firm fruits such as cranberries (use warm spices), figs (photo #11), green mango, pineapple (use chiles!), spiced peaches, and unripe papaya.
Brined or Fermented Pickling (in salt water): sweet, juicy fruits with warm spices like cherries (both sweet and sour varieties), peaches and other stone fruits, pears (sligtly underripe), grapes (great for cheese boards.
Preserved & Salt Pickles: salt-pickled lemons in Moroccan-style recipes, salt-pickled limes in Indian cuisine, cuisine; salted oranges and orange peels are used in the cuisines of the Caribbean, Latin America, the Middle East, North Africa, and Southeast Asia.
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*Your container should be heavy and wide (as opposed to tall and narrow). The pickles are heavy and you don’t want the vase. If you use a coffee can or other lighter object, add marbles or cooking weights to the bottom.
†Flowering herbs: Perfection would be to have herbs in flower, but only a great gardener can plan that.
‡There’s much more than cucumber pickles. Just about any vegetable, and many fruits [photo #12], can be pickled. Especially common are beets, cocktail onions, dilly beans (green beans—photo #10), giardiniera (mixed pickled vegetables), and jalapeños.
> Charcuterie and cheese boards: Pickled vegetables of any type complement cured meats and cheeses. Cornichons are typically served with pâté other cured meats.
> Cocktails: Pickle juice and/or spears are used in Bloody Marys, Martinis, and Picklebacks.
> Salads: Chopped pickles or pickle relish are often used in coleslaw, macaroni salad, and egg salad—not to mention deviled eggs.
> Sauces and Dressings: Finely chopped pickles are mixed into tartar sauce, rémoulade, and Thousand Island dressing.
> Smoked meats, barbecue, and fried fish: Tangy pickles help cut through the richness of fatty meats like brisket and pulled pork. They present a complementary flavor to fried fish.
> Sushi and rice dishes: Pickled ginger, daikon, or other pickled veggies are served alongside sushi and rice bowls. Called tsukemono in Japanese, they are most popularly cucumber, daikon (Japanese radish), eggplant, lotus root, and plums (umeboshi).
> Pizza: Dill pickles and pickled jalapeños are added to pizza and flatbreads such as BBQ Pulled Pork Pizza, Big Mac Pizza, Cheeseburger Pizza, Cuban Sandwich Pizza, Dill Pickle Pizza, and Nashville Hot Chicken Pizza.

[12] Pickled figs are delicious with everything from cheese and charcuterie boards to roasted meats and even withw vanilla ice cream. Here’s the recipe (photo © California Figs).
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[1] For Valentine’s Day or any of the pickle holidays: a pickle bouquet (photos #1 and #3 © Grillo’s Pickles.

[2] Pickle spears (photos #2 and #4 © Good Eggs).

[3] Halves are better than whole pickles because they’re lighter and won’t tip over the jar.

[4] You can skewer pickle chips for the bouquet, and add them as a garnish to a Bloody Mary or Martini (photos #1 and #7).

[5] After you decide upon the size of the vase, you’ll know what length of bamboo skewers to purchase. These are 12” (photo © DaTpuik | Amazon).

[6] A Pickle Martini, garnished with a cornichon and a cocktail onion. See the link to drink recipes at the end of the Pickle Bouquet recipe (photo Elvira Kalviste | The Nibble).

[7] You can garnish a drink with pickle chips on a skewer, or skewer the chips on a a bamboo spear for the bouquet. Or both (sorry, we can’t find the origin of this photo).

[8] Pickles are popular garnishes for Bloody Mary’s. Here, dilly beans (pickled green beans) and a dill pickle spear garnish the drink (photo © Italienne Restaurant | NYC (permanently closed).

[9] Bloody Mary with a garnish of pickled asparagus, pickled onions, pickle chips, and olives (photo © Hella Bitters).

[10] V8 Juice | Bloody Mary Society | Facebook).

[10] Bright red peppadews, sweet piquanté peppers that are always pickled and sold in jars, contribute color as well as a sweet and slightly spicy flavor profile (photo © Murray’s Cheese).
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