How to Make Kool Aid Pickles

Turn plain pickles into a neon sweet-and-sour treat.

Take a sour dill pickle and add Kool-Aid drink mix. To many people this spells flavor disaster, but if you live in the Mississippi Delta region of the country, it means a delicious treat. Kool-Aid pickles are a curious combination of super-sweet and sour. You will either love them or hate them, but you'll never be bored with them. They're bright, they're colorful and they're a snap to make in your own home kitchen.

Things You'll Need

• 1 gallon jar dill pickles
• Pitcher
• 2 packets unsweetened Kool-Aid
• 1 lb. or 2 1/4 cups sugar

Instructions

1. Drain the liquid from the jar of pickles into a pitcher. Remove the pickles from the jar and slice all of them lengthwise right through the center. Return the pickles to the jar.

2. Pour the Kool-Aid powder and sugar into the pitcher with the pickle liquid. Stir the mixture until all the sugar has dissolved.

3. Pour the liquid back into the jar. You may not fit all of it into the jar, but pour in as much as you can to cover all the pickles. Discard any excess liquid.

4. Put the lid on the jar and place the jar in the refrigerator. Allow the pickles to sit in the Kool-Aid mixture for at least a week. They will absorb color from the liquid and take on a sweet-and-sour flavor.

Tips & Warnings

• Experiment with different flavors for custom pickle combinations.

References

• The New York Times; A Sweet So Sour: Kool-Aid Dills; John T. Edge; May, 2007
• SlashFood; Kool-Aid + Pickles = Koolickles;Kristyn Pomranz; June, 2008