| Brand | Van Holten's Pickles |
|---|---|
| Product | Hot Mama |
| Form Factor | Pickle-in-a-Pouch |
| Tasters | Dawson, Deen, Jicheng |
| Date | 2025-09-15 |
| Average Rating | C |
First Impressions#
The hot mama pickle from Van Holten comes as a single individually packaged pickle. Jicheng’s work office had purchased a box of these for office snacks. People seemed to have strong reactions (both good and bad) about this pickle, so we had to try it out ourselves.
First Taste#
The first thing that we noticed was how large the pickle was. It was a full-sized pickle. We ended up cutting it into 8ths to share amonst the 3 of us. Upon first bite we were hit with an extremely sharp vinegar flavor, followed by a strong spicy kick. Unfortunately the the spicyness was not very complex, and had a generic “hot” flavor. The sourness of the vinegar was overpowering, with little complexity or depth of flavor. It was a similar experience to taking a whiff of smelling salts. We definitely felt awake after taking bites out of this pickle.
Verdict#
Not something we would eat again, but worth trying once for the comical experience. If you want a pickle that you can actually enjoy eating, look elsewhere. We give this pickle a C.