A
pickled cucumber, most often simply called a
pickle in the
United States and
Canada, is a
cucumber that has been
pickled in a
brine,
vinegar, or other solutions and left to ferment for a period of time.
Cucumbers were probably first pickled 4400 years ago in Mesopotamia.[1] In India, pickles were well known by the Vedic period.[2]
The pickling process was also known to the Ancient Greeks. Aristotle is reported to have praised pickled cucumbers for their healing effects.[1][2] Julius Caesar's soldiers ate pickled cucumbers as health aids;[2] many other brine-soaked foods were part of daily life in Ancient Rome.[3] Cucumber pickling remained widespread across the Levant and Maghreb regions, where it is still very popular today.
Pickled cucumbers became popular in the United States due to the influence of the cuisine of Central and Eastern European immigrants.
