Have you ever wondered if pickle juice by itself can be brought from stores just like regular juices?
This article explores whether or not pickle juice can be brought by itself, where it could be bought if possible, what its differences are compared to homemade pickle juice, and other many different things you can use it to do aside from drinking.
Is it even okay to drink pickle juice from the jar?
The juice from your pickle jar might look unappetizing or disgusting to say the least, but take note, it’s absolutely okay to drink.
According to many scientific studies, the juice has the ability to relieve muscle cramps, keep the body hydrated for long periods of time and also control body sugar.
So it’s not without health benefits, and one more thing to note about drinking pickle juice is that once you go the route of drinking pickle juice, there’s really no coming back!
Can you buy just pickle juice by itself?
It is possible to buy just pickle juice by itself without the pickles inside. There are many brands that offer pure pickle juice for sale, for instance, Best Maid that offers dill pickle juice in a 3.8 L container (pretty shocking), Suckerpunch and even Pickle Juice sport.
Based on the brand producing the pickle juice, you can have a product that ranges from pure pickle juice with no fortifications whatsoever, to pickle juice that contains several fortifications and preservatives in order to affect its taste, color, nutritional value and also even shelf life.
Where can you buy just pickle juice?
As for where you can buy pickle juice, you can find it in your local grocery store or you can purchase it online from websites like Amazon and Walmart.
What do Store Bought Pickle Juice Contain?
It’s always important to know what items (like pickle juice) that are brought from outside really contain, in order to make sure one is not feeding themself a dangerous concoction.
Do store bought pickle juice contain the same ingredients as home made pickle juice or are there significant differences to take note of?
Let’s begin by exploring the sizes of store bought pickle juice containers.
How big is the container?
Store bought pickle juice can be loaded in really tiny containers in the counts of mL, all the way to containers as big as 3.8 L or more, like the one from Best Maid.
How many calories is in a store bought pickle juice?
Nearly all store bought pickle juice contains 0 calorie because the purpose of the drink is not to add extra calories to the body, but rather to help relieve certain symptoms such as cramps and as well as supply the body with hydration (much like water does but in a slightly tasty way), and also help with controlling body sugar.
How much sugar is in store bought pickle juice?
Most store bought pickle juice have nearly 0% sugar content in them.
What about fortifications?
When it comes to constituents added in order to make the juice more nutritional, we can have vitamins such as vitamin C, vitamin E in proportions as much as 30 to 40% of the daily recommended intake (based on a 2000 calorie diet), and you can also have electrolytes such as calcium, potassium, magnesium added in order to provide the health benefits that they provide.
The electrolytes are typically in the form of citrates for example calcium citrate, potassium, citrate and magnesium citrate.
What are the ingredients in store bought pickle juice?
As far as the ingredients are concerned, it’s the normal basic stuff you’ll find in all homemade pickle juice recipes.
First, there’s water which is essential for creating the brine or juice solution.
Then there’s vinegar of the required potency necessary to create the acidic medium where harmful bacteria would be suffocated as well as to add flavor and texture to the brine, and then there is pure salt which adds its own flavor as well as serves as a preservative benefit.
Then, when it comes to the actual flavoring, most store bought pickle juice rely on natural flavoring derived from the combination of various seeds, leaves, herbs and condiments to achieve it. The constituents could be mustard, seed, cloves, garlic, dill seed or weed etc.
Now where the distinguishing line becomes evident between store-bought pickle juice and homemade pickle juice is in the addition of preservatives as well as chemicals that affect color.
Store bought pickle juice has preservatives such as sodium benzoate, potassium, sorbate, citric acid and even cultured dextrose added in order to give the juice stability and longer shelf life. Then for color, fruit juice or food grade dyes such as FD&C pigments are normally added.
Which is better: store bought pickle juice or homemade pickle juice?
There is really a lot to consider when it comes to comparing store bought pickle juice and homemade pickle juice.
So first, when it comes to taste, they both taste similar with only some rare taste buds being able to make a distinction between the two varieties actually.
However, with some brands that have extra chemicals added to affect flavor and taste, you would be able to tell the difference in taste between the store bought pickle juice and the home made variety.
When it comes to which one keeps longer, it’s the store bought variety due to how shelf stable it’s been made to be. Home made pickle juice that is properly preserved would also last a long time, but not to the extent that a store bought pickle juice would last and still keep freshness.
In terms of overall quality (which is better in terms of benefits and nutrition), note that there are some pickle juice that come with added electrolytes in them such as calcium, magnesium, and sodium which means extra benefits, and so with this in mind, it can be said that the store bought pickle juice fortified with minerals and vitamins is more healthy in comparison to pure home made pickle juice.
Now these minerals and vitamins are still what you can get from other sources at home, and so the extra edge might still not mean a big deal.
Also, the extra electrolytes might not be good for everyone, and so if you fall into that category, you’re better off drinking your homemade pickle juice.
Can you use store bought pickle juice to pickle vegetables?
Treat store bought pickle juice exactly the same way you’d treat homemade pickle juice, because they’re literally made from the same ingredients.
This means that you can use store bought pickle juice to pickle vegetables like carrots, beetroots, cucumbers, tomatoes, etc. except this time around, it’s more like marinating than pickling, because it would not be advised to keep the pickles In the solution for a long time in order to cause it to ferment, and this is because the veggies themselves would fail o ferment perfectly due to the fact that the pickle juice would now be attempting a secondary fermentation which is not likely to succeed due to its reduced potency.
How long do store bought pickle juice last?
Store bought pickle juice when kept on the counter should last for many months on end (unopened) although they’re better off kept in the refrigerator.
In the refrigerator, store bought pickle juice should last between 6 months to a year unopened, or 3 to 4 months after opening.
It’s always a good idea to try and finish up the juice in the shortest time possible for maximum benefits and nutrition, and also because with every opening of the bottle, you end up introducing bacteria from the atmosphere into the medium which will quickly reduce its longevity.
What else can you use store bought pickle juice for?
Aside from pickling vegetables or rather marinating them, you can make snow cones with the pickle juice, marinate eggs and color them in beetroot juice, soak potatoes to give them some depth of flavor and also color when making hash browns and also marinate chicken meat in order to make it tender.
