The Most Refreshing Ice Pops Are Made With Pickle Juice

I buy pickles as much for the brine as I do for the pickles. Often this liquid is poured down the sink like tap water, but that’s a bummer when it’s so flavorful. Whisked with olive oil and Dijon mustard, pickle brine makes a super-charged dressing. Splashed into a hearty broth, it can wake up any soup or stew.

But come summer—when the sun is hot and the air is humid and the shirt you just put on is already sweaty—there is no better use for pickle brine than an ice pop. And lucky us, there is no easier ice pop than one made with pickle brine.

I first tripped over this idea in This Will Make It Taste Good by Vivian Howard. Inspired by the “picklesicles” she scored at a roller rink in North Carolina in the 1980s, the chef and cookbook author shares a rendition with sauerkraut juice: “A picklesicle is just about the most thirst-quenching thing you can imagine on a hot summer day.”

Patented in 1924, then advertised the year after as “a drink on a stick,” the Popsicle was, like so many inventions, a sticky-sweet mistake. So the story goes, an 11-year-old named Frank Epperson mixed soda powder and water, forgot about it overnight, and woke up to a frozen miracle.

In the century since, frozen sugar water you can eat with one hand has become a summertime staple in America. So why not frozen salt water? Savory drinks are already adored. Think: an olive martini, salt-and-pepper shikanji, oniony gibson, classic margarita, salted lassi, minty doogh, late-night pickleback.

A savory drink on a stick isn’t such a leap. It’s just colder and, if you ask me, even more refreshing. Here’s how to make one:

Pick a brine.

What’s in your fridge? Lacto-fermented pickles (salt plus time equals brine) are funky and complex. Quick pickles (using vinegar as the brine) are bright and tangy. Both work great.

Bread-and-butter. Sweet and mustardy. A good gateway for that person who thinks they won’t like a pickle ice pop.

Cornichon. Less sweet, more oniony. Pair with a big bag of potato chips and, if you dare, pickle dip.

Sauerkraut. Cabbage-y, hopefully with a hint of caraway. Ideal after eating an overstuffed sub by a lake.

Kimchi. Spicy and savory and so pretty. You can use any kind of kimchi (bonus points if you make your own).

Pour the brine into molds.

Odds are you don’t have a ton of brine, so pour what you have. Maybe it’s enough to make one ice pop for one lucky person (that’s you). Or maybe your fridge is full of half-empty jars and you pour a different brine into each well.

If you’re using all the pickles in the jar right away, you can steal all the brine. But if you have some pickles left, make sure you leave enough liquid to cover them.

Some brines can stand on their own, while others appreciate being diluted. The easiest way to tell is to take a sip. If it’s too salty or spicy, fill the mold half to two-thirds full, then top with water.

Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for the molds (this model has been good to me over the years). And if you don’t have or don’t want to buy something, get crafty with waxed paper cups and wooden sticks.

Norpro Frozen Ice Pop Maker

Freeze the molds for a few hours.

Keep the pops in for at least three hours, ideally overnight. Then unmold them according to the manufacturer’s instructions; for me, this means plunging into a glass of hot water for 15-ish seconds. For all you plan-ahead-ers: These will keep in the freezer for weeks. You can leave them in the molds, or unmold then transfer to individual bags.

Eat your ice pop in the sun.

You’ve got this one covered. Just don’t forget sunscreen.