PICKELS - Who Knew?
Post-Workout Drink:
Drink the juice to help workout muscle cramps fast.
PMS Remedy:
For those same reasons, pickle juice is widely used as a cure for menstrual cramps.
Potato Pick-Me-Up:
Add a heavy splash of pickle juice to a pot of simple boiled potatoes for a fantastic side dish. The flavors absorb so perfectly you won't want to add salt, butter, sour cream, or anything to these taters once you're done. Making potato salad? Skip the mayo, and toss with veggies and pickle juice for a much healthier (and more flavorful) version.
Vinegar Replacement:
Pickle juice works in place of vinegar in salad dressing, soups, or virtually any recipe.
Heartburn Cure:
Along with its flavor-boosting benefits, pickle juice seems to have the same health effects as straight-up vinegar. Particularly effective as a heartburn soother, pickle juice may also help to avoid blood-sugar spikes if taken with a meal.
Cleaning Agent:
Food industry insiders have been using pickle juice to clear blackened copper pans for years. It also works well as a grill cleaner, making those charred, crusted-on bits much easier to scrape off.
Pickle Popsicles:
True, you can buy these on pickleaddicts.com (actual, real thing), but you can also just pour some of this glorious nectar into pop molds, paper cups, or ice-cube trays and make your own savory summer snack.
Re-Pickler:
Or maybe you just want some more pickles? Empty your vegetable drawer and throw some onions, carrots, peppers, whatever, into the jar of leftover pickle juice. Let them sit for a few days and BOOM: new pickles!
Meat Tenderizer & Marinade:
Pickle juice has amazing meat-tenderizing abilities and, as a marinade, will add a ton of flavor to your meats, without the extra cals in heavy sauces or marinades. It works exceptionally well on chicken - some claim a skinless breast soaked overnight in pickle juice will taste like fried chicken when cooked. Try it on cuts of pork and beef, too.
Fish Poacher:
There is very little in this world that sounds more healthy-boring than poached fish. But, add your pickle juice to the poaching water and you will never look back.
Weed Killer:
The high vinegar and salt content of pickle juice has made it a longtime favorite with gardeners. Dumping it on dandelions, thistle, and virtually all common weeds that crop up around your home. Bonus, it's pet-friendly and you probably already have it in your fridge!
Recipe Add-On:
We lost track of all the things you can add pickle juice to, but some favorites include: BBQ sauce, hummus, chicken salad, mac 'n' cheese, gazpacho, deviled eggs, vinaigrette, borscht, beet salad, salsa, bean dip, and meatloaf.
Hiccup Stopper:
We've found little scientific evidence backing up this claim (and, frankly, we're glad the scientists are working on other things), but many, many people claim that the number-one cure for hiccups is a small glass of pickle juice.
Hangover Cure:
If you can stomach it on a hangover tummy, pickle juice is a known folk remedy that actually works. It replenishes your depleted sodium levels and helps to assist in rehydration. In many countries, people even take a shot of pickle juice before going out to help prevent dehydration in the first place.
