Ingredients to Watch: Pickles and Pistachios

Pickles and pistachios are having a serious moment. Long beloved by chefs, pickles have exploded in popularity – as tangy toppings for hot chicken and pizza, and even as flavoring for savory ice cream and martinis. And move over, millennial avocado toast – Gen Z is in the pickle era.

“Pickles are sweeping the nation!” exclaims US Foods® Food Fanatics® Chef Tyler Herald. “I keep seeing pickles on sandwiches, pickle beers, pickle backs, and then there are all the pickle pouches at the grocery store now…who would have thought they would be as big as they are?”

US Foods Food Fanatics Chef Jennifer Steakley loves working with US Foods’ Metro Deli® Kosher Dill Pickle Chips. “I’ve made a pickle-brined, fried portobello mushroom sandwich where I soak the caps in the juice from our Metro Deli Kosher Dill Pickle Chips for 20 minutes, bread and fry them and serve the sandwich with a dill pickle aioli,” she says. “I’ve even made dill pickle-brined breaded cheese curds. It’s a great way to use the whole pickle jar product.”

Meanwhile, pistachios are riding a viral flavor wave, sparked by TikTok-famous Dubai-style chocolate bars, filled with pistachio and crunchy kataifi. Now, chefs are riffing on the combo with croissants, cookies and frozen treats. Pistachios in general – named a top trending ingredient this year by research firm Technomic, and the flavor of the year by af&co, a restaurant consultancy – bring a pop of flavor and a crunch to both sweet and savory creations. Click here to download the US Foods MOXē® ordering app to purchase pickle and pistachio products.

On the Menu

Many US Foods customers serve pickle and pistachios in various ways on their menus.

OG Zaza

At Minneapolis-based OG Zaza, the Big Dilly Pizza comes with a housemade dill sauce (dill, garlic, sour cream), fresh housemade dill pickles, 100% whole milk mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced garlic and a parm blend and fresh dill garnish.

“It’s a very basic, straightforward pizza, but we make our own dam$ pickles and it makes all the difference, and it’s impossible for me to take this pizza off our menu now,” says Chef/Owner Joshua Hedquist. “We use hydroponic English cucumbers that we source through US Foods, and slice on the thickest setting of the mandolin, so they retain their crunch. ‘Big Dilly’ was my nickname in high school.”

Mama Mezze

At Mama Mezze in New York City, Mama’s Pickles are prepared with extra garlic and dill, while Lucky Rabbit in Jonestown, Texas, offers Country Fried Dill Pickle Chips (made with US Foods crinkle cut pickles soaked in buttermilk, coated with house breading and served with tangy comeback sauce).

King Street Oyster Bar

King Street Oyster Bar (with locations in Virginia, Maryland and D.C.), serves a giant Dubai chocolate brownie with pistachio cream, kataifi, chocolate ganache and vanilla ice cream on its Happy Hour menu for sharing.

Janken

At Janken in Portland, Ore., the Dubai to Janken dessert is a riff on Dubai chocolate, with white chocolate, pistachio-based kataifi and matcha jam.

Marigold

At Chef Anthony Sitek’s London-meets-India-inspired Marigold in Cincinnati, fall-off-the-bone lamb ribs are rubbed with ras el hanout spice and smoked low and slow for four hours. They’re finished on the grill and served with a sweet, umami-rich Marmite barbecue sauce (think port wine, vinegar, ketchup and just a touch of honey). A cooling pistachio labneh – made from house-blended pistachio pesto and thick Greek yogurt – adds creamy contrast, while a garnish of crumbled roasted pistachios ties it all together.

Click for more: recipes and ideas using pickles and for those using pistachios!