Fried eggs can be given a salty, tangy twist by adding a common leftover ingredient to the pan: pickle juice. The brine, usually discarded, adds flavour without overpowering the egg's subtle taste.
How to cook eggs with pickle juice
Angela Patrone, a lifestyle reporter at Reach, tried the method after seeing TikTok user @dansgoodside include pickle juice in his recipe. He added the juice after frying the eggs until three-quarters done.
Pickle juice is generally made of water, vinegar, salt and spices, though the components differ by pickle variety. Garlic, dill, sugar, mustard seeds and peppercorns are frequent additions. Beyond pickling, the sharp liquid can flavour marinades, dressings and sauces.
Water instead of oil or butter
Angela ditched oil and butter completely, starting the frying process with water instead. She placed the pan over moderate heat, cracked the egg into a small bowl first to avoid shell pieces, and added the egg. When it started to solidify, a tablespoon of water was added and the pan was quickly covered with a lid. After 30 seconds, a tablespoon of pickle juice was added, and the pan was angled to coat the egg and pan base.
Adding the juice too early can make the whites slightly tougher. The egg was served on buttered sourdough, and salt was unnecessary because of the brine. The pickle flavour was more noticeable in the whites than the yolk, with subtle mustard and vinegar notes.
Pan performance and customer feedback
Angela tested Lakeland's the Only Pan, a non-stick pan marketed with eight uses, from steaming to stir-frying. It includes a stainless steel steamer basket and silicone turner, and costs £59.99. It outperformed a former non-stick pan that needed much more oil. One customer noted it "does not work with all induction hobs", saying it didn't work on their hob despite the description. Lakeland advised rotating the pan to different positions, explaining "it may be that the magnet in the hob is hitting a small part of the aluminium through the stainless steel mesh".
