My sense is that small cucumber pickles, which are often called gherkins, were more popular years ago than they are now. I can’t remember the last time I saw them at a potluck dinner or family gathering, but when I was a child, they were served in lovely relish dishes at every holiday meal. Until I saw a short piece in the 1925 issue of a cooking magazine about how to serve and eat small cucumber pickles, I never thought about whether gherkins were popular a hundred years ago, or if they became popular later in the 20th century.
The magazine provides detailed, but, in my opinion, very confusing information about how to serve gherkins. I think (but am not positive) that the article provides tips for serving them when hosting a dinner at home, as well as how a waitress should serve them at a restaurant or event.
How to Serve and Eat Small Cucumber Pickles
Small pickled cucumbers may be served with meat or fish at a dinner or luncheon, either by placing a portion on the dinner plate, or by having the waitress offer them. Very wee gherkins may be served like olives, for hors d’oeuvres. If the waitress serves them, it should be with a fork or spoon, and if offered as an accompaniment, we think the guest should help themself by means of a fork or spoon, placed in the dish. But if the gherkins are a substitute for olives, and served in the little hors d’oeuvres dishes, they may then be offered to one another by the guests between the courses, and eaten as finger foods, like olives. At a large and formal dinner, the hors d’oeuvres are often offered by the waitress, and a spoon or fork may then be placed in the dish.
American Cookery (February, 1925)
Did you follow all that? It’s hard to believe that serving gherkins was so complicated. Apparently, gherkins were considered a gourmet food a hundred years ago, and many readers were somewhat unfamiliar with them.
That does sound complicated. I’d be tempted to offer gherkins with a toothpick. I bought a vintage glass toothpick holder that would look nice beside the dish in your picture.
Aww – the glass toothpick holder would perfectly complement the relish dish.
Well, I guess they were trying to be socially correct!
Proper etiquette was important.
What a faff! Put the jar on the table and get stuck in, eh? 😉
Works for me. After I took this photo, I put the gherkins back in the jar and have been just been setting the jar (with a fork in it) on the table at meals.
👍
Back in the 20s, the upper class and upper middle class had servers at dinner at fancy dinner parties. I believe that is the waitress the article is referring to.
Thanks for the explanation. The article makes more sense with that contextual information. My sense is that readers of American Cookery represented a broad range of cooks, but maybe many would have been able to hire a server if they were hosting a fancy dinner. This was the pre-depression era.
I am sure many of the cooks might dream of hosting a fancy party, even if they couldn’t afford it.
That is why it is nice to have an Aldi’s nearby as this week is German week and they have pickles, good ones! Also, great Great German pumpernickel bread and spaetzli.
mmm. . . the foods sound lovely. I don’t think that the stores around here have weeks when they focus on certain regions or countries.
Aldi’s is a German store with branches in the states. Wonderful stuff! Which state are you in?
I enjoy reading old magazines and cookbooks. We don’t realize how much our tastes change over time, as well as the types of food that are available.
It’s fascinating how food trends and fads ebb and flow across the years.
Luv Gherkins! I generally cut them into small rounds and provide toothpicks for guests. For me it’s finger food all the way. 🤤
Thanks for sharing! That’s a great suggestion for how to serve gherkins. I never thought of cutting and providing toothpicks.
oh that’s funny – waitresses for your gherkins 🙂 I do love gherkins and always have a jar in the fridge. So great for a crunchy snack.
sherry
And, they are low in calories.
We have guests for lunch today and one of the dishes is charcuterie with cornichons!
It sounds lovely. I probably shouldn’t admit it, but I wasn’t familiar with the word “cornichons” and did an online search to find the definition. I now know that they are a type of small gherkin. As a result of readers’ comments like this one, I am continually learning and growing in my knowledge of foods and food terms.
Fascinating how food is part of our culture. In the Netherlands we love gherkins, cornichons and other pickles, for instance ‘zure bommen’ (served with herring) and ‘Amsterdamse uien’ (a small pickled onion). The recipe of the Amsterdamse ui goes back to 1850 and the Jewish inhabitants of the city.
Netherlands’ pickled foods sound wonderful. I enjoyed learning a little about the country’s food history and culture.
🙂
Great historic perspective! Manners matter, especially when tiny pickles are served or on the table! Now I’m ready for any pickle-ish situation!
🙂 Always good to know obscure etiquette rules.
Sweet gherkins were what we called them. And I like some of the others just put the jar on the table with a small fork. Special dinners like thanksgiving, then they are put on a pretty serving dish with olives and cheese chunks along with a small fork.
You serve the sweet gherkins at special dinners similarly to how my family did it – though they would have put carrot and celery strips in the fancy dish instead of the cheese. My mother had a dish that contained three sections. We put the gherkins in one section, olives in another, and a mixture of celery and carrots in the third section.