Gherkins?

[Delphine]

I found a old recipe of my mothers and it called for gherkins. I'm not sure what kind of pickles they are.

I have Claussen dills and bread and butter pickles. I also have cornichons. Would any of these work as a substitution?

[chefj]

Canapé generally refers to small salty or savory bits that are served on toasted bread to have with pre dinner drinks.
So do you remember the relish having a sweet flavor?
Gherkins refer to both sweet and sour pickles. They only consistency is that they are small cucumbers used to make the pickle.
In the 50's in P.A. I would guess that they were sweet gherkins. So any sweet pickle would do as a substitute. But if it is coming from an Italian-American home ( served along side Antipasti) it could be sour just as easily.

[coll]

Cornichons are the closer, although not the same; sweet relish is the same thing as gherkins if your recipe calls for chopped.

[Cherylptw]

Gherkins are small sweet pickles...I use them in potato or egg salad or chicken/turkey salad & I sub pickle relish when I don't have them. Cornichons are not quite the same & dill or bread & butter pickles are not suitable substitutions. It would help to know what kind of dish the recipe is for.

[Breadcrumbs]

According to Barron's "The New Food Lover's Companion" a cornichon is the french version of a gherkin. In my experience, gherkins are typically sweet.

That said, in France, I've been served cornichons on a few occasions that were slightly sour and pickled w tarragon.

[Harters]

In the UK, gherkins and cornichons are pretty much the same beast. The latter smaller than the former. Should be fine.

[chefj]

what is the recipe for?

[Delphine]

Hi, This is a canape (I think thats the term I want) - probably from the 1950's. It is spread on crackers. It calls for tuna, olives, gherkins, mushrooms, and a tomato sauce. She mad a note that it should not be a bitter tomato sauce. Being from Pennsylvania in the 1950'a, I am presuming canned mushrooms. She put this on (or next to) her antipasto platter.