Bread-and-butter pickles are a perfect match for sandwiches, burgers, and even barbecue. Do all brands strike the same balance of sweet and sour? Find out with this taste test!
Today, you and your friends or family are going to practice being professional tasters. You’ll taste different brands of pickles and determine which one is your favorite by rating them based on their flavor and texture.
Ask an adult—or a friend or family member—to be the Tasting Organizer. This is an important job! They will be in charge of setting up the tasting. The Tasting Organizer should:
Give each taster 1 sheet of blank paper and a marker or pen. Have each taster use their marker or pen to divide the paper into the same number of sections as brands of pickles you’ll be tasting. Label the sections “Sample 1,” “Sample 2,” and so on, depending on how many samples you have.
Meanwhile, give each taster a glass of water and 2 crackers or a slice of sandwich bread—these will help cleanse your palate between tastes.
The Tasting Organizer should give each taster 2 or 3 slices of each brand of pickles on their sheet of paper, placing slices of the first brand under “Sample 1,” slices of the second brand under “Sample 2,” and so on. (You probably want to put the pickles in small bowls, since they’re wet.)
Time to taste!
Time to pick a winner! Which of your samples had the highest Overall Score? That’s your winning pickle. Look at the key (made by the Tasting Organizer) to see which brand matches your winning sample.
Remember, the Tasting Organizer assigned each sample a number before you started the tasting—use that sheet here.