great half sour pickles? Schorr's?

[1newyorkguy]

Anyone know of any in town? I used to get Batampte and would get satisfied..they seemed to go downhill though and most batches were borderline "gone bad", soft, off-tasting.

Then I found Schorr's in Whole Foods in Florida. They are awesome. Are they here? Any others making them well?

[veganhound]

Try Solly's Bagels. There are at least three locations. Original location around Main and 28th Ave. They sell Strubb's half dones. Canadian made, always reliable. Call them, you should have to look no further. If the don't have any, try Omnitsky's Kosher on Cambie across from Oakridge Mall, Kaplan's Star Deli on oak and 41st or The Kosher Warehouse on Kingsway just off of E 16th Ave.
Stong's on Dunbar is another place that should have them.

[1newyorkguy]

thanks for the tips.

[kinnickinnik]

Are Strubb's truly brine fermented or do they add vinegar (I thought the latter)? If truly brine fermented, store turnover will need to be brisk if they are to remain at the half-sour stage.

[fmed]

According to their stie, they have a line of products that need to be refrigerated that are brine fermented and do not have vinegar added http://www.strubpickles.com/html/prod...

[StarryFork]

I stand corrected!

[StarryFork]

Strubb's do add vinegar, so not a legit half-sour. http://www.strubpickles.com/Recipes/recipesbrine.htm

Also, my googling shows that the company may have gone bankrupt? Whyte’s Food Corp. Inc. that has bought the brand has not confirmed whether they will keep the original recipe, though it sounds like there is room for hope. http://www.torontolife.com/daily/dail...

[1newyorkguy]

I see they have a half sour with:
INGREDIENTS: Cucumbers, water, salt, dill, garlic, spices, calcium chloride (a natural mineral that enhances crispness), sodium benzoate. No vinegar, but I'm not into sodium benzoate.

http://www.strubpickles.com/html/prod...

[clutterer]

I'm not a pickle fan, but my wife did pick up a bottle of McClure's pickles (from Brooklyn/Detroit, as the bottle claims) at Old Faithful.

[tdeane]

Man I miss the pickles in New York. Even the crappiest deli there had delicious pickles. You can order Guss' Pickles online here http://www.gusspickle.com/ or The Pickle Guys https://www.pickleguys.com/. You could get them sent to Washington and then drive down and pick them up.

[Sam Salmon]

FWIW there's a Deli in downtown Yarrow with fabulous pickles-a bit of a drive but if you're doing a farm tour in the valley it's well worth stopping by.

[LotusRapper]

Ah yes, Yarrow Deli Cooperative if that's what you're referring to, Sam.

Weird how I actually ate there, twice, in August while doing some contract work out there. Had some deli sandwiches for lunch but I don't recall the pickle slices wowing me at the time. Deli meats were alright, tho'

The deli is right next to the small park on Yarrow Central Road, here as the white building behind the blue car:

http://g.co/maps/ru657

Friendly family operation, very modest digs. The old man who owns/runs the barber shop across the road (Hank or Frank ?) is a neat chap to chat with, IIRC he's like close to 90 yrs old.

[kinnickinnik]

I love half sours but have never seen true lacto-fermented ones at retail here, only in the east (eg Montreal delis, Schwartz's). I've resorted to pickling my own once a year when I can get fresh pickling cukes.They don't keep super long as they continue fermenting but I enjoy a brief pickle frenzy while I have 'em.

[1newyorkguy]

want to sell me some half-sours?

[kinnickinnik]

Heh. Sorry only had about 3 lbs of cukes last time - nearly all gobbled up or given to pickle fans at work. This batch wasn't quite my usual - discovered too late that I'd forgotten to buy dill so I aimed for a peppery spice mix instead - but they didn't have the kick I hoped for. Nice and crunchy but neither garlicky nor spicy enough and of course not dilly at all.

That's it for me til next summer...

Have you seen this great thread? http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/805067

[StarryFork]

Amazing thread, thanks for posting the link!

[1newyorkguy]

thanks..I'm giving it a go now

[kinnickinnik]

Good luck! I posted a response to your last question on that thread.
If you want to learn more - UBC farm offers fermentation workshops from time to time. Sign up to be on their mail list here: http://ubcfarm.ubc.ca/teaching-learni...
(I've not taken the course but might do so next time around).

[dapperdon]

I am not familiar with “half sour” pickles. I do like pickles and some of the ones I have recently tried and liked were:
Claussen
Unpasteurized and found in the refrigerated section of the deli department in grocery stores. Currently on sale at Safeway for $4 and SaveOn for $4.50.
Mad About Food
They carry a pickle made in the Fraser Valley. Don’t remember the name but they are packed in a home style canning jar. Label says they are made to a family recipe from the prairies. This would tie in with GS's reply. Very good but a little, very little, sweet for our taste.

[Georgia Strait]

i don't know answer to your exact question but (and i kid here but am also serious) ... you need to make friends with someone who has a mom / grandparents from the prairies. those are the best pickles. we are westerners - and those kind of home-made recipes, when done well, are a rare real cdn treat, possibly akin to the midwest style of cooking / preserving?

[LotusRapper]

Or befriend a "bubbeh" at the Jewish Cultural Centre ....... ;-)

At least get some at Kaplan's Star Deli. Dunno if they're half sour, I just know they're dang good.

Or find her jarred pickles at Whole Foods (dunno about Vancouver stores) in WA.

http://www.bubbies.com/

[kinnickinnik]

Looking at their product list - no half sours.
http://www.bubbies.com/bubbies_produc...
Kosher dills are full sour. Glad to see they're fermented and not vinegared though - and I *think* I've seen at WF here. Will check them out - thanks!

[LotusRapper]

Click on the site homepage's "Find Bubbies", enter your postal code and you can find the nearest stores that carry them (I suspect they're in eastern provinces, since entering mine I only get a listing of WA stores within 100 miles), but at least Bubbies can be found at all the Haggen stores:

Haggen 360-380-9000
1815 Main St
Ferndale, WA 98248
Distance: 34.39 mi.
View Location In Google Maps

Orcas Home Grown Market 360 376-2009
138 North Beach Road
Eastsound, WA 98245
Distance: 43.51 mi.
View Location In Google Maps

Haggen 360-676-5300
2900 Woburn
Bellingham, WA 98226
Distance: 43.83 mi.
View Location In Google Maps

Community Food Co-Op 360.734.8158
1220 N. Forrest St
Bellingham, WA 98225
Distance: 44.78 mi.
View Location In Google Maps

Haggen 360-733-4370
1401 12th St
Bellingham, WA 98225
Distance: 44.78 mi.
View Location In Google Maps

Haggen 360-671-3300
2814 Meridian
Bellingham, WA 98225
Distance: 44.78 mi.
View Location In Google Maps

Haggen 360-647-4300
210 36th St
Bellingham, WA 98225
Distance: 44.78 mi.
View Location In Google Maps

San Juan Island Food Co-op
775 Mullis Unit C
Friday Harbor, WA 98250
Distance: 48.79 mi.
View Location In Google Maps

Haggen 360-814-1500
757 Haggen Dr
Burlington, WA 98233
Distance: 64.15 mi.
View Location In Google Maps

Haggen 360-848-6999
2601 E Division
Mount Vernon, WA 98273
Distance: 67.77 mi.
View Location In Google Maps

Skagit Valley Food Co-op 360-336-9777
202 So 1st St.
Mt. Vernon, WA 98273
Distance: 67.77 mi.
View Location In Google Maps

Haggen 360-629-4400
26603 72nd Ave NW
Stanwood, WA 98292
Distance: 80.75 mi.
View Location In Google Maps

The Goose Community Grocery 866.326.6714
14485 Highway 525
Langely, WA 98260
Distance: 90.23 mi.
View Location In Google Maps

Country-Aire Natural Foods 360-452-7175
117 East 1st St
Port Angeles, WA 98362
Distance: 90.87 mi.
View Location In Google Maps

Good To Go Grocery 360-457-1857
1105 So Eunice St.
Port Angeles, WA 98362
Distance: 90.87 mi.
View Location In Google Maps

Haggen 360-403-3800
20115 74th Ave NE
Arlington, WA 98223
Distance: 91.73 mi.
View Location In Google Maps

Haggen 360-530-7700
3711 88th St NE
Marysville, WA 98270
Distance: 93.98 mi.
View Location In Google Maps

Sno-Isle Natural Foods Co-op 425.859.3798
2804 Grand Ave
Everett, WA 98201
Distance: 96.65 mi.
View Location In Google Maps

Haggen 425-377-7100
8915 Market Pl NE
Lake Stevens, WA 98258
Distance: 96.86 mi.
View Location In Google Maps

[1newyorkguy]

Bubbies doesn't come close to Schorr's or what you'd find at a real Jewish deli.