We Taste-Tested 6 Dill Pickles—Here Are Our Favorites

You probably have a jar of dill pickles in your fridge, whether for a refreshingly sour snack, to serve alongside burgers and sandwiches, or to use in recipes like fried pickles, dips, and more. There are two kinds of dill pickles, though: Lacto-fermented pickles and vinegar pickles. Lacto-fermented pickles get their sour flavor from lactic acid produced during the fermentation process. Vinegar pickles, on the other hand, get their tanginess from a hot brine that typically includes vinegar, water, salt, and sugar. 

In his book The Art of Fermentation, Sandor Katz writes, “Although vinegar is a product of fermentation, most vinegar pickles use hot vinegar as a means of sterilizing vegetables. In these pickles, fermentation is prevented by this heat treatment, combined with high levels of acidity in the vinegar.” These are the pickles you're most likely to find in jars in an unrefrigerated section of a market (lacto-fermented pickles are almost always kept refrigerated unless they've been processed with heat after fermentation), and they're the common accompaniment to burgers and sandwiches at fast food chains and run-of-the mill diners and delis. 

While the Serious Eats team tends to prefer lacto-fermented full- and half-sours, we also know that the convenience of a more shelf-stable vinegar pickle makes it a worthy purchase. Plus, for some foods, they're just the right choice (we'd much rather a vinegar pickle on a burger or fried chicken sandwich than a Jewish deli–style full sour). So we thought we'd taste a bunch to find our favorite.

In this taste test, we methodically sampled six different vinegar-brined dill pickles you’re likely to find online or at your local supermarket. We had our tasters eat them on their own without knowing which they were trying while rating them on key criteria like flavor, sourness, and texture. In the end, we found one winner we’d be happy to keep in our fridge.

The Criteria

Not all dill pickles are made the same. Some have barely any crunch, some taste like you're eating straight vinegar in solid form, and others lack the herbaceous, spiced note that comes from aromatics like fresh dill or coriander seeds. A good vinegar-brined dill pickle should be sour enough to make you pucker, but not so tart that it tastes of pure, unadulterated vinegar. It should be refreshingly crisp and have a pleasant brininess, with a balanced flavor of fresh dill, and possibly garlic, coriander seeds, and/or mustard seeds. We also prefer pickles that have a natural greenish yellow hue that’s not neon from dye.

Overall Winner

Wegmans Kosher Dill Pickles

Every single taster enjoyed this pickle. “Not overly salty or sour, and no noticeable spice at first, but it has a big dill aftertaste,” our senior social media editor Kelli wrote. Like Kelli, our associate visuals director Amanda and associate editorial director Megan enjoyed the seasoning on these pickles. “My favorite so far—the closest to a lacto-fermented pickle,” Megan noted. Our editorial director Daniel appreciated the pickle’s muted acidity and flavors of allspice and garlic, though he did find them a touch mushy. Others, however, described the pickles as “pleasantly crunchy,” “decent,” and “crisp.”

The Contenders

• B&G Pickles, Kosher Dill
• Mt. Olive Pickles, Kosher Dill Spears
• Nature's Promise Dill Pickle Spears
• Vlasic Kosher Dill Spears
• Trader Joe's Kosher Dill Pickle Spears
• Wegmans Kosher Dill Pickle Spears
  

In Conclusion

Each brand we sampled used calcium chloride as a firming agent in their pickles. Wegmans, however, was the only brand with gum arabic, an ingredient that’s often used as a stabilizer or emulsifier in foods. When used in pickles, it prevents the brine from becoming cloudy or crystallizing. While some companies may use dye to give their pickles a yellow hue, Wegmans uses turmeric. Ultimately, all our tasters would have preferred full sour lacto-fermented pickles to snack on—but agreed that Wegmans’ vinegar-pickled dill pickles would do in a pinch.

Our Testing Methodology

All taste tests are conducted with brands completely hidden and without discussion. Tasters taste samples in random order. For example, taster A may taste sample one first, while taster B will taste sample six first. This is to prevent palate fatigue from unfairly giving any one sample an advantage. Tasters are asked to fill our tasting sheets ranking the samples for various criteria. All data is tabulated and results are calculated with no editorial input in order to give us the most impartial representation of actual results possible.