Not trying to judge, just trying to understand where we are in the spectrum of human behavior - when you eat a jar of pickles or olives or whatever, what do you do with the brine? Do you dump it, use it for something else, or drink it?

I know someone who saves it to drink it later. He is my husband. Honestly, even after 20 years together, I didn't realize this about him. I thought the stockpile in the door was just a collection of forgotten empty jars, and I've been dumping them as such.

Which is it:

  • I'm a terrible wasteful sinner?
  • He's a freak?
  • Neither/Both, there's a special middle ground?

No judgement or emotional attachment here, he can have an entire shelf of the fridge for brine jars, idgaf. It just never occurred to me to that I should consider stockpiling brine.

Are you stockpiling brine? What do you do with it? "I'll drink some with breakfast tomorrow," is a perfectly acceptable answer. Just curious if yours is different.

  • EmmaGoldman [she/her, comrade/them]M
    ·
    1 year ago

    Wait, you can drink brine? I assumed it was like seawater. Brb gonna cut my water bill in half and then get hypernatremia.

  • FlakesBongler [they/them]
    ·
    1 year ago

    Show

    I don't do much with pickles at all, so I have never had the problem of dealing with brine

    • the_itsb [she/her, comrade/them]
      hexagon
      ·
      1 year ago

      secret camera footage of my kitchen, except the brine drinker looks more like a tall Moe and the skeptic has same hair but bigger tits

  • CantaloupeAss [comrade/them]
    ·
    1 year ago

    Sometimes I'll drink the pickle brine, yeah. Shit's delicious. I also drink the bean juice after cracking a fresh can of black beans.

    This is such a wholesome post I love this.

    • the_itsb [she/her, comrade/them]
      hexagon
      ·
      1 year ago

      drink the bean juice

      This one is new to me! What is it like?

      Idk if he's ever tried that, but I'm going to tell him about it, this sounds like a thing he would do.

      • CantaloupeAss [comrade/them]
        ·
        1 year ago

        It's like drinking the broth of a bean soup! Beany and proteiny. If you drink enough of it, you wind up looking like this: cool-bean

        All my friends make fun of me for drinking the bean juice but they're just jealous angery

        • the_itsb [she/her, comrade/them]
          hexagon
          ·
          1 year ago

          They definitely are, that's peak performance right there.

          You've sold me, we're going to try it! Thanks for the tip.

      • xXthrowawayXx [none/use name]
        ·
        1 year ago

        If you save your bean juice (aquafaba is just bean juice!) you can add it to soups or sub it into your rice cooking water.

    • GiantFloppyCock@lemm.ee
      ·
      1 year ago

      I found a recipe once for a “pickled martini” that used pickle juice instead of olive brine - it was really good.

  • SerLava [he/him]
    ·
    edit-2
    1 year ago

    I do not fucking DRINK the brine, I use it as a marinade or to pickle red onions, the brine of which also makes a great marinade

  • Thordros [he/him, comrade/them]
    ·
    1 year ago

    I know someone who saves it to drink it later. He is my husband. Honestly, even after 20 years together, I didn't realize this about him.

    Okay, I get it, you think I'm weird. You didn't have to make an account on my commie shitposting site to publicly shame me.

      • the_itsb [she/her, comrade/them]
        hexagon
        ·
        1 year ago

        Hahaha omg!! I am going to have to make him create an account so you guys can be friends, this is hilarious! Are you anywhere near Ohio?

  • GinAndJuche
    ·
    1 year ago

    Brine is a powerful anti-hangover weapon.

  • beautiful_boater [he/him, any]
    ·
    1 year ago

    I keep a few jars of pickle brine around for when I need to replenish electrolytes. I don't as much any more since I am not running as often or as long distances. But my former roommate always kept a giant pickle jar that he would top off with normal sized jars of pickles he would buy, because he was a really serious runner that would always drink some after doing 10+ mile runs.

    So, I guess middle ground?

    • ReadFanon [any, any]
      ·
      edit-2
      1 year ago

      If anyone is poor or looking to save cash etc. then the WHO Oral Rehydration Solution recipe is really simple:

      1L of water (5 US cups)
      6 teaspoons of sugar
      ½ a level teaspoon of salt

      Less is more with this; a more dilute version is nearly as effective whereas going overboard can negatively impact its effectiveness.

      Works really well if you're dehydrated, especially if you are dehydrated due to being sick.

      • Ecoleo [he/him]
        ·
        1 year ago

        How does sugar help with hydration? I'm thirsty all of the time, regardless of how much water I drink, but I don't want to be drinking that much sugar every day.

    • the_itsb [she/her, comrade/them]
      hexagon
      ·
      1 year ago

      Ohhhhhh - it's like free Gatorade, but better

      this never occurred to me, thank you ❤️ he really likes savory way more than sweet, this makes a ton of sense

      • beautiful_boater [he/him, any]
        ·
        1 year ago

        For similar reasons, it is also a folk hangover cure, since it helps with replenishing electrolytes and rehydrating after drinking a lot.

  • raven [he/him]
    ·
    1 year ago

    Throw some baby carrots in there. Boom, pickled carrots. Great with a sandwich.

  • isame [he/him]
    ·
    1 year ago

    Brine is like nature's Gatorade. When I'm hungover I crave that shit. So it's good for him!

      • queermunist she/her@lemmy.ml
        ·
        1 year ago

        There's no exact recipe, but what I do is heat the brine on the stove and then add coconut oil, nooche, and xanthan gum. Blend it all together with an egg beater and then pour it into the jars I save while it's still hot so as it cools the jars seal themselves.

        I'm still experimenting with the exact balance of ingredients, but this recent batch was 1 part oil and 1 part nooche to 2 parts brine. I put the nooche in a coffee grinder first so it's an extremely fine powder, then xanthan gum is sprinkled into the mix as it's blending until it's nice and thick.

        • the_itsb [she/her, comrade/them]
          hexagon
          ·
          1 year ago

          Omfg, that sounds incredible. Thank you for typing this up, I am so fucking stoked to try it. I think kid and I will really like it and husband will see have a spiritual experience that alters the course of his cuisine forever.