Gherkin

gherkin a word derived from a diminutive form of the Dutch name for cucumber, has two meanings. The first, which is the more general, indicates a small variety of cucumber (or an immature specimen of a larger variety), suitable for pickling. The second meaning refers to a separate species, Cucumis anguria, a small vegetable related to and resembling a cucumber, which belongs to the Caribbean; this is much used for pickle and is often referred to as ‘West Indian gherkin’.

Those who are most enthusiastic about gherkins (mainly Russians, E. Europeans, Ashkenazi Jews, including the large populations of these groups in N. America) would insist that both texture and flavour differ significantly between these various possibilities, and display connoisseurship in selecting their gherkins. They like ‘dill pickles’, i.e. gherkins etc. pickled with dill, to go with many sorts of cured meat such as pastrami. Paul Levy (1986) gives a precise and eloquent recipe for what he regards as the ideal dill pickle.