At the Farmers' Market: Picklelicious

For more than 20 years, Picklelicious has been making mouthwatering pickles, much to the delight of its countless loyal customers.

Owner Robyn Samra learned to make pickles on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, studying with the local pickle vendors. She has since stayed true to the New York style pickle heritage, one of the keys to Picklelicious’ success.  

Hailing from New Jersey, Samra started out at a Meadowlands Flea Market selling her pickles. She now attends more than 40 Farmers’ Markets in New Jersey and New York, including the . With continuous lines packed two or three deep, Picklelicious is a Farmers’ Market favorite. 

“We’ve been here for over eight years and we definitely have our regular customers”, said Carol Scholl, a full-time Picklelicious employee. “We have a kid who comes every week who is 2-years-old and has to have his pickle-on-a-stick.”

Different pickles have different ‘pickling’ requirements, Scholl revealed. For example, New Pickles, which are crisp and taste like a cucumber, are ready to eat in three to four days, while Half Sour pickles require a week to a week and a half to pickle, and Full Sour pickles require six to seven months before they are ready to eat. 

Picklelicious also offers other products including hot and spicy pickles, sweet pickles, sweet pepper fillets, sour tomatoes, sauerkraut, pickled celery, marinated mushrooms, olives, sauces and dips, to name a few.

One of the most common recipes for pickles is relish, and with so many kinds of pickles to choose from, there are many possibilities.

One of Scholl’s favorite relishes is the hot and spicy relish, which is delicious and easy to prepare. It calls for Hot and Spicy pickles, Half Sour pickles and Sweet Pepper Fillets. Place all the ingredients into a food processor and enjoy!

Here is Samra's recipe for Pickle Soup:

PICKLE SOUP

Ingredients:
2 tbs butter
1 medium onion
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
4 large kosher dill pickles or hot & spicy pickles (for those who like to kick it up a notch)
2/3 cup liquid from the pickles (we call it brine)
4 large potatoes (peeled & cut into 1/2" and diced)
2 tbs flour
1 cup sour cream
chopped fresh dill (as a garnish)

Directions:
1. Melt butter, sauté onion (about 3-4 minutes).
2. Add broth, pickles, brine and potatoes.
3. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender (approx. 20 min.).
4. Blend flour with sour cream.
5. Add a small amount of hot soup to the sour cream mixture. Blend together and than constantly whisking back into hot soup, until soup comes to a boil.
6. Reduce heat and simmer 3 minutes until slightly thickened. (At this point soup can be left chunky or pureed).
7. Enjoy!

For a list of Farmers’ Markets where Picklelicious will be attending, please visit picklelicious.com or visit the Picklelicious store at 384 Cedar Lane, Teaneck, NJ.