Refrigerator Dill Pickles
The main difference between pickling and slicing cucumbers is the thickness of the skin and the size of the cucumber. Homegrown pickling cucumbers tend to have a thinner skin than slicing cucumbers an...
WHAT‘S COOKING
The Tipsy Pickle
The quicker a fresh cuke hits brine, the crunchier the pickle.
The quicker a fresh cuke hits brine, the crunchier the pickle. Words of wisdom from Angela Gerace, the wizard behind The Tipsy Pickle. She’s been making crisp pickles since 2014 when she first concocted the idea to add Switchback ale to her brine. After five years as a hobbyist pickler, she now makes more than 20 styles flavored with some of Vermont’s top craft beers, hard ciders, and distilled spirits. “I’m always playing with spices and flavors and seeing what plays well with certain beers and spirits,” Angela explains. “I collaborate with the brewers and distillers on how to highlight the flavor of their product. We taste and I tinker, and the results are truly unique. No two styles taste the same!”
Take a summer-fresh cucumber and play with flavors. What do you get?
Sweet, hot, crisp, sour, spicy, savory, and tart. Jalapeño, garlic, dill, or mustard adds further zing. For beer, Angela partners with The Alchemist, Four Quarters Brewing, Switchback, Burlington Beer Company, 14th Star, and Frost Beer Works. Whiskey, rum, gin, vodka, and liqueurs come from Smugglers Notch Distillery, Caledonia Spirits, Vermont Distillers, St. Johnsbury Distillery, Wild Hart, Rectified Bourbon, Black Flannel, Saxton’s River, and Green Mountain Distillers. Stowe Cider and Citizen Cider round out the list of craft libations at the heart of Angela’s creations.
These aren’t the pickles most of us grew up forking out of a jar. Maple Breakfast Stout Pickles and Hart Bread ’N Butter Pickles have won national 2022 Good Food Awards. Other recent finalists include Maple Whiskey Cherries (yup, she pickles cherries in season!), Double Garlic Lush Pickles, and Bourbon Barrel Aged Rum Pickles. New for this summer are Cersei’s Wildfire, a spicy bread-and-butter pickle made with Weird Window’s Jalapeño Cream Ale; a spicy sour pickle made with Metcalfe’s Honey Bourbon laced with cumin and chili; and a crisp sweet pickle infused with Metcalfe’s Raspberry Liqueur.
“Winning those Good Food Awards was definitely a boost for the business,” Angela notes. Many breweries and distilleries with tasting rooms carry The Tipsy Pickle, which can also be found in stores in northern Vermont and ordered online through A Slice of Vermont website. The hardest decision is choosing which styles to buy! However, the flavor descriptions are accurate and can help guide your decision. Or just buy a slew and treat yourself and your friends to a blind taste testing!
With more than 20 flavors, The Tipsy Pickle offers unique styles to please every palate.
In addition to Vermont booze and beer, Angela buys just-harvested cucumbers direct from the farms of Sam Mazza and Paul Mazza. Dill, garlic, and hot peppers come from other growers in the Burlington area. Summer production days run long. “I start with farm pickups at 5am and push through until I get stupid-tired,” she laughs. Angela cranks out 1,000 jars of pickles a month, year-round, in a rented commercial kitchen in Burlington. She processes more than 16,000 pounds of cucumbers a year—that’s 8 tons!
Born and raised in Winooski, Angela grew up helping her grandparents and mom make pickles, salsas, and jams from their garden produce. She wishes everyone knew how to preserve their own food, even if it’s only some quick pickles, fresh salsa, or refrigerator jams. Angela’s years of experience and experimentation yield this advice: Whatever you choose to preserve, start with the freshest and most local ingredients you can access—and then go play in the kitchen!
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