Avocado Pickles Are the New Avo Trend—And We Tried Them Out

In a world where so many are searching for the meaning of life, I have the answer: avocados.

I truly and deeply believe that this fruit is a gift from the heavens, which is why I use any excuse to add them to every aspect of my life and meals. I am a California girl, after all.

While avo-toast may forever be my OTP, I had to try out this new fad no matter how strange it sounded at first. If you've heard the news of avocado pickles lately and wanted the 411, I gotchu, girl.

(via Delish)

Scroll below to get the skinny on the newest avo trend and what happened when I pickled my very own:

The second a food tutorial by Delish crossed my Newsfeed I knew I needed to acquire these ingredients ASAP and try my hand at pickling. I mean, I live for avocados and 'tis the season for pickles (BBQ is another ???????? ).

To get started, these are the ingredients you'll need:

• 1 cup distilled white vinegar
• 1 cup water
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp. kosher salt
• 1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (thanks to delivery pizza I have a lifetime supply at home)
• 1 clove of thinly sliced garlic
• 5 sprigs of cilantro (if you have the taste buds for it)
• 2 under ripe avocados, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 mason jar for pickling

You'll probably notice that you have most of these ingredients already at home, which makes this recipe feel all the more like destiny.

This tutorial falls into three easy steps:

1. Combine water, vinegar, sugar and salt into a small saucepan and heat over medium. Stir frequently until the mixture boils and turn off heat once the salt and sugar is dissolved. Let the mixture cool.

2. Prep your pickling ingredients by slicing up your garlic and avocado.

3. Combine your dry ingredients into a mason jar and then pour in the liquid. Seal the lid tightly and store in the fridge for at least three hours before diving in.

My Process

While the majority of this tutorial is extremely simple and requires little to no culinary skill, there was one aspect that totally marshed my mellow. Peeling the skin off of under ripe avocados is laborious. If you happen to think that your little sib is the most annoying thing on the planet, you'd be wrong because the actual most annoying thing is peeling an under ripe avo.

It took me, I'd say, a good 20 minutes to peel the skin off of two avos which was about 15 minutes longer than I anticipated. However, while this is a minor inconvenience, it really isn't the end of the world.

Because I started my pickling process later in the evening I decided to let them refrigerate over night rather than breaking into them exactly three hours later. I mean, after dessert do you really want to add a potentially disastrous pickling incident to your palate? No.

(Before and after adding the pickling juice)

My Result

To be honest, I'm still not sure how I feel about this one. The following morning I broke into the bottle (which, I might add, I loved the jar's aesthetic, which gave me heart-eyes).

The pickle flavor came through exactly as you'd expect, but the lack of crunch that you get with pickled cucumbers was a little concerning. The flavor itself is a tad off when it isn't paired with the usual crunch. I'm not sure if an avocado's smooth and buttery texture is the perfect pairing for this salty and sour flavor.

As for the taste, the spice of the red pepper flakes didn't come through for me, which I was really looking forward to. In my personal opinion, I like a pickled flavor that's higher on the acidic sour level than sweet, which is mostly what I got with this recipe. This flavor is more akin to the sweet pickle flavor you get in relish which, for me, is a bit nauseating.

I added some jalapeno slices and juice to my mixture and hope to feel the heat later in the day.

My Verdict

The recipe delivered exactly what it advertised, though I can't say I'm in love. If you're a fan of sweet pickles then you may just find yourself in mashup heaven.

One last detail to mention is that I tried out these pickled avo slices plain. I imagine that they are much better when added to another dish, such as an egg sandwich or burger. Try it out and let us know!

 

Looking for another treat that'll satisfy your sour-tooth and provide relief from the heat? THESE pickle pops are guaranteed to be your fave frozen treat of the summer.