FOOD NEWS
What Puts The 'Bread' In Bread And Butter Pickles
BY JULIA HOLLAND
Bread and butter is the name given to uniquely sweet pickles born in the Midwest. As history reveals, they were the product of the kind of necessity that breeds resourcefulness.
Illinois cucumber farmers Omar and Cora Fanning pickled a batch of small cucumbers to sell in the 1920s, using a sweet-and-sour recipe that had been in the family for generations.
The local grocery store paid the Fannings for their pickles with bread and butter. Thus, the name bread and butter pickles was coined in honor of this barter transaction.
On a more metaphorical level, the "bread" in bread and butter pickles could also refer to the successful living the cucumber farmers ended up making with this resourceful side gig.
Furthermore, bread and butter pickles became popular in Depression-era sandwiches as the main filling between slices of bread with butter, mayonnaise, or peanut butter.