Branston Pickle

[massive88]

Ive heard Yahtzee talk about how awesome it is for almost a year now, and I just had a supermarket open near me that carries it.

I almost bought me a jar, but then I realized, I have no idea how or on what you are supposed to eat it.  Is it a jam to be put on toast or with Peanut Butter?  Is it a sandwich spread to substitute for Miracle Whip/Mayo?  Is it more analogous to mustard or ketchup or relish and all their uses?

Before indulging, I figured Id attempt to learn more, and theres more UK people on this board than any other Im a member of, so let me have it.  What exactly is Branston Pickle, and how do you best enjoy it?

[Franco B]

Its exactly what it says it is, a pickle

Most commonly eaten with cheese in a sandwich. It ok, I don't love it and I don't hate it.

[Branston Pickle Wiki]

[polaris]

its a sweet tangy relish i suppose is the best way to describe it
i'm just about to use some in a beef and onion pie, really adds to the flavour
i prefer the sandwich pickle they do which has smaller chunks, but if you're going for a ploughmans lunch its got to be the original one.
good with a pork pie too, but i prefer HP sauce for that.
but yeah like franco said mostly in a cheese sandwich.
give it a blast it is nice with a good cheddar cheese, can you get good cheese in america now?

[massive88]

Pickled well, anything is not that common in America.  Beyond actual pickles (pickled cucumbers) and their variants which are widely used, almost all other pickled things are more or less uncommon.

The concept of a cheese and relish sandwich is also fairly foreign to me, the only cheese sandwich I am familiar with is Grilled, which is a melted cheese sandwich inbetween buttered bread slices, usually an easy to sell sandwich for children (or hungover adults).

Just bread, cheddar (several mm thick i assume), and branston pickle?

[polaris]

a ploughmans lunch is essentially, big chunk of cheddar cheese, big chunk of bread and a load of branston pickle. so yeah go for it.
youre gonna need good cheese, that rubbery stuff aint gonna cut it

[Silas (son of Silas)]

My perfect ploughmans (as I had yesterday in Stratford upon Avon) : Stilton, half an apple, good crusty bread cut in a wedge not sliced, lettuce, tomato, pickled onions, Branston (not the small chunk variety)

[EightBySix]

From  http://septicscompanion.com

Check the website generally - a translation of British slang phrases into American. Really funny, esp for this mixed US/UK audience...

 pickle: n 1 a sort of brown, strongly flavoured blobby mass that people put in sandwiches. I’m really not very sure what it’s made of. Pickled something, one can only hope. 2 any sort of pickled cucumber or gherkin (universal).