Gherkins galore! 17 delicious ways to enjoy pickles – from frickles to pickletinis

One of the UK budget’s big surprises? A discount on gherkins. And while they’ll always be good on a burger, there are many more unusual ways to indulge, from fried cheese treats to savoury ice-cream

In John Healey’s first budget as chancellor this week, he announced that he will remove import tariffs on more than 100 products – including, crucially, gherkins. Baked beans and boiled sweets, too, but gherkins stole the limelight, perhaps due to gen Z’s long-held obsession with all things pickled, including cucumbers.

But for those who think of a gherkin as either something to be chomped straight from the jar or swiftly removed from a Big Mac, do not worry: there are, in fact, plenty of ways to get more bang for your newly discounted gherkin buck.

If you’re unsure about gherkins in general, let me ease you in with a gateway dish: the frickle, AKA a fried pickle. Deep frying almost any foodstuff will make it taste better and pickles – as gherkins are commonly known in the US – are no exception. Remember to pat dry your gherkins, which typically come swimming in their own brine. Then it’s simply a case of making a batter, dredging, frying and trying not to get grease all over your chin.

Frickles are usually paired with a creamy dipping sauce such as aioli or ranch dressing – but why not go double gherkin and make your own tartare? Nigel Slater’s classic tartare sauce uses gherkins to cut through greasiness, allowing us “to continue eating”. You don’t have to ask me twice.

Alternatively, there’s also gherkin ketchup: Tom Kerridge’s recipe promises that “your guests will think you’re a pickling genius” – despite the fact that you are essentially serving up pureed gherkins.

Now that you’re a gherkin convert, time to try something a little more adventurous. Sophie Wyburd’s recipe for baked camembert with spicy pickle dressing is a tangy twist on a classic comfort food, adding gherkins to the more traditional dressing components of oil, rosemary and chilli. Plus, I would challenge anyone to turn down the “croissant crouton” dippers, which she serves in place of the usual crusty bread.

Cosy indulgence not the vibe? Why not freeze your gherkins to make something altogether fresher. Recipe developer Emily Bonner blitzes her frosty pickles to create a kind of savoury granita, then uses it to top a burrata.

The cheese and gherkin pairings don’t end there: Nicola Lamb combines gherkins with cheddar for her flaky cheese and pickle scones, while Matt Tebbutt adds them to a gruyère and salami toastie, intended to accompany french onion soup – although I’d venture it’s tasty eaten alone, too. Is the viral TikTok “chickle” snack – yes, that’s gherkins wrapped in fried cheese – an upgrade on the frickle? I couldn’t possibly say.

Hamish Ruia and Max Desoutter – AKA the Flavour Fellas – use a grated gherkin and dill mixture to turn the traditional Spanish dish pan con tomate into “pan con pickle”. And, while at first glance Alexa Weibel’s fried chicken sandwich may appear to simply use gherkins as a garnish, she also uses the brine to marinate the meat as well as chopped gherkins to “add zip” to her coleslaw.

If this is all sounding a little bready, how about Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s super-tangy potato and egg salad with gherkins and capers – or Tamsin Burnett-Hall’s dill pickle macaroni salad. They’re both described as a side dish, but perhaps now is the time to make them the main event?

OK, let’s get weird: can I interest you in a pickletini? Sure, it’s like an appletini, except … yes, I’m afraid it’s gherkins. Brine and garnish – plus vodka and vermouth; classier than a pickleback – whiskey “chased” with a shot of pickle juice – if not necessarily more enjoyable. Alternatively, there’s Dua Lipa’s spicy diet coke: the singer mixes pickle and jalapeno “juice” with the carbonated soft drink, before topping with a couple of slices of each. That pickletini’s not sounding so bad now, huh?

Tom Hunt describes his pickled cucumber and vodka ice-cream as “one for the true gherkin fanatic” – but you’ve come this far, so I can only assume you’d be willing to give it a go. He suggests you “serve in cones and top with a gherkin” – but to my mind that rather ruins the fun of asking guests to guess the flavour.

If you do want to be upfront about it, you might as well serve chocolate-covered mini gherkins – optional toppings include sea salt, chilli flakes and freeze-dried raspberries, none of which do much to disguise the fact that these are, in effect, gherkins dipped in Dairy Milk. The recipe describes them as “quirky canapés … or party conversation starters” – which I imagine is certainly true. Pair with marmalade or garlic to really make the most of those post-budget bargains