What do you do when the last of the pickles are eaten out of the jar? Drain the liquid and toss the jar into recycling, right? WRONG! Don’t let that liquid gold go to waste! There are so many unique and effective ways to use pickle juice. It’s great for adding unexpected flavor in drinks and dishes. Plus, as you’ll see in the list below, it can treat common ailments like sunburn and cramps! Read on for the full list…
1. Make More Pickles. Simply cut up some cucumbers, peppers, or other veggies and place them in the pickle jar with the leftover pickle juice. Seal it tight and leave it in the fridge for a few days. You’ll have
2. Relieve an Upset Stomach. Fermented foods like vinegar produce a lot of probiotics which can help with stomach pain, indigestion, and all sorts of gut health related problems. Since vinegar is a main ingredient in the brine of pickles, it stands to reason that pickle juice would be an effective way to relieve stomach pain!
3. Treat a Hangover. Drinking pickle juice may replace electrolytes and fluids lost from a night of drinking. Just make sure you’re drinking water as well.
4. Add to a Drink Recipe. If you want a new, fun, and unique drink recipe that will have all of your friends talking, try TastingTable’s Pickleback or FoodieCrush’s pickle-infused vodka.
5. Replenish Electrolytes. If you’ve had a hard workout, or just feeling a little dehydrated, pickle juice is actually a great way to replenish electrolytes, potassium, and sodium levels!
6. Reduce Heartburn. You’ll be shocked to discover what a spoonfull of pickle juice can do for your heartburn! Try this simple at-home remedy next time you feel the burn!
7. Treat a Sunburn. The Kitchn claims that pickle juice can soothe the pain of sunburt skin and help reduce puffiness. Just apply a few spoonfuls of pickle juice over the skin and let it do the work!
8. Improve Recipes. There are so many ways to add pickle juice to some of your favorite recipes as a way to boost flavor! You can marinate meat or tofu, give a splash of flavor to bread or fries, and you can even add pickle juice to butter!
9. Keep Ice Off Your Sidewalk. Next time you get cold weather, just dump some pickle juice on your front steps! The salt content in pickle juice is high enough to melt ice so it will keep your walkways clear of ice!
10. Get Rid of Bad Breath This may come as a surprise, seeing as vinegar isn’t necessarily the best smelling thing on earth, but pickle juice actually contains healthy bacteria that can kill the odor-causing bacteria in your mouth
11. Kill Weeds. Spraying pickle juice in your garden may be just what your plants need! Not only is the acidity in pickle juice high enough to kill most weeds, the acidity will actually help flowers thrive, if they prefer acidic soil. Try this all-natural weed killer today!
12. Reduce Muscle Cramps. Since the salt in pickle juice can be absorbed quickly and easily, muscle cramps can be reduced quickly after drinking pickle juice!
13. Make Copper Pipes and Pans Shine. Chip and Joanna Gaines from “Fixer Upper” often use pickle juice on their show to clean copper. This works for pipes, pots, pans, jewelry, and whatever other copper things you have. Go ahead and give it a try!
14. Soothe a Sore Throat. Believe it or not, by simply gargling a spoonful of pickle juice, you can speed up recovery time for sore throats, and soothe the pain.
15. Stop Hiccups. Our grandparents swore by pickle juice as the true cure for hiccups. It’s worth trying out if you haven’t already!