Ridiculous things you have done to save a few pennies - the pickle experiment

[Megma]

Mustachians do crazy things to save money!

My Bf and I have been having an ongoing debate about if the Aldi pickles or the Harris Teeter (HT) pickles are cheaper per consumable pickle quantity (no I’m not kidding).

For most items you can just compare the cost per ounce, however in this case because the (very small) Aldi jars contain pickles that are much bigger than the (large) jar of HT pickles, he insists that more actual pickle mass and less juice is in the HT jar because they pack in more closely due to their smaller size. We are assuming when we by a “48 oz” jar of pickles that includes all interior space of juice and pickle.

One jar of Aldi pickles is $1.29 and HT jar is $5.29, which means we can buy 4.1 of the small Aldi jars for one HT jar; I feel there is no way the HT jars have more than 4x as much pickle mass.

This has been under discussion for several weeks (apparently we are out of things to talk about).

Yesterday began the great pickle jar cost experiment. We weighed a new jar of pickles from Aldi and a new HT jar. When we are done eating them we will weigh the remaining jar + juice weight to determine the amount of pickle mass each contained and which jar is cheaper.

We (mostly BF) eat a lot of pickles, so knowing this will save us $$$. And one of us will have some serious bragging rights, which is at least 50% of the motivation.

What is the craziest thing you have done to save a small amount of money? (ie .15 on pickles/week)

[2ndTimer]

I can hardly wait to hear how this works out.  It doesn't sound ridiculous to me at all.

[netskyblue]

Posting to follow.  Curious minds want to know about the pickles!

[trailrated]

Posting to follow.  Curious minds want to know about the pickles!

+1

[totesmahgoats]

This is definitely the sort of "nonsense" that would go down in our house. Keep us posted.

[RexualChocolate]

Mustachians do crazy things to save money!

One jar of Aldi pickles is $1.29 and HT jar is $5.29, which means we can buy 4.1 of the small Aldi jars for one HT jar; I feel there is no way the HT jars have more than 4x as much pickle mass.

Reminds me of this study i saw on NPR

http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2014/02/26/282132576/74-476-reasons-you-should-always-get-the-bigger-pizza

So basically depends on the dimensions of the pickle jar. Every increase in radius is a serious gain to total volume. If harris teeter jar is 4x bigger than 1 aldis jar, you definitely should get the HT one. I doubt its 4x bigger though, so looks like youll have to do some math

I think youll have to take a simple random sample of 20 jars from each and weigh the pickle content though as they could stuff a differing amount of pickles/jar

[Learner]

Regardless of the results otherwise, would the larger pickles result in greater pickle consumption per pickle eating event?  (Do you grab a single pickle, or slice them to load a sandwich or something?)  Assuming a close per cost per jar, this could be the big make or break factor.

[Gone Fishing]

Sounds like you have a keeper for a BF:)

Now, why not just fish all the pickles out of each jar and weigh them?

[SailorGirl]

Want to save even more money?  Save the juice and buy some cucumbers (on sale if you can). 

Slice, quarter or eighth the cucumbers to give them lots of cut-edge space.

Pour the pickle juice into a pan and heat to almost boiling.  While it's heating, pack the cucumber slices into the jar (you could rinse it with boiling water if you were concerned, but I never do).

Set the jar on a folded towel and carefully spoon in the hot juice.  If it doesn't reach the very top, add some heated vinegar or juice from another pickle jar.

Let cool and store in the fridge for a week or so.

You can only reuse the juice once since the fresh cucumbers will dilute the acid too much for it to work again.  Plus the flavors get weaker.

[Bracken_Joy]

Make your own pickles! Seriously, it is a ton of fun, and easier than you think =)

That being said, I'm still curious what your answer will be. Although I feel like you would have to average it across several jars to get a reliable answer. Hmm.

[KCM5]

You could measure the juice in each jar by volume - 1 cup = 8 oz. Then subtract that from the volume of the pickle jar to know how much of the jar is pickles.

But there is that variability mentioned above of how many pickles one eats depending on size. You'll have to do an extended experiment that includes cutting the pickles into smaller sizes to see if that effects the volume of pickle consumed per day/week.

[kib]

Regardless of the results otherwise, would the larger pickles result in greater pickle consumption per pickle eating event?  (Do you grab a single pickle, or slice them to load a sandwich or something?)  Assuming a close per cost per jar, this could be the big make or break factor.

Perceived Portion Size has been huge at our house.  It took me forever to get a grip on the fact that these small savings can be completely eradicated by portion size.  If two 12-oz chicken breasts are $.20 per ounce and we each have one for dinner, that's $4.80.  If two 8-oz chicken breasts are $.25 per ounce, that sounds like a really bad deal, except that's $4.00 in chicken we'll be eating and we probably won't notice the missing bit. Of course this can be mitigated by only eating 8 oz each and saving the rest somehow, but at some point the rebellion factor kicks in and I just serve the size I'm presented with.

[Bob W]

Since your kitchen experimenting why don't you just lacto ferment your own pickles?   You can google it but a recipe might be

Cabbage,  pickling cucumbers, garlic, salt

Shred cabbage -- put a layer in crock -- add some salt  --ad a layer of pickles and garlic -- repeat for 4-6 layers.    Mash down till liquid covers and/or add a bit of water.  Cover with towel.

In about a week you will have the most awesome sauerkraut and pickles you ever dreamed of.  And they will be alive and healthy,  not killed and preserved like store bought.   I make kraut all the time and it is awesome.

So end the debate and move onto something that will be a lifelong useful skill.  You can pickle carrots, beets, radishes, mushrooms, garlic, peppers, green beans, onions and just about any veggie.   Make them regular,  spicy or anywhere in between.   Add some pickling spices if you like. 

No refrigeration required.   My problem is always not eating the whole batch in one sitting!

[deborah]

The problem I find in the method you have adopted, is that sometimes it is difficult to get the pickles out without the juice - particularly when you are reaching the end of the jar.

It would be better to have both contestants and a jug handy. Weigh the pickles in one jar. Decant all the juice into the jug. Weigh the pickles again (without juice). Put all the pickles in the jug as well. Weigh the jar. Put it all back into the jar, and weigh the other combination. You will then know how much the juice, the jar, and the pickles in each jar weigh. And you will find out sooner. And you will not be accusing one another of steeling juice (which I'm sure would happen in our household)!

Oh, yes, your original question was about ridiculous things you have done to save a few pennies (although I am not sure that many of us save pennies any more).

We are currently going through butter and bread cutting training. You see, one of us is left handed, and the other is right handed. Recently we have been discussing why each of us needs to discard the first slice of bread we cut from the loaf, and have discovered that we slice the bread (and butter) at different angles. So we have worked out a method of cutting that means we both cut straight. This will reduce the amount of bread that is thrown out, by about one or two slices per loaf. It will also mean that we cut less butter to put on our bread (it also has the angular cutting problem), and will probably make the butter last for a couple more meals.

[deborah]

There are two ways of pickling - in salt (lacto fermenting) and in vinegar. There are plenty of recipes online to do either, and with both, after about half an hour's work, you get more pickles than you will use in a year. There is a third type of pickles (I don't think you have them in the US) which are more normal here, and are not in clear liquid, but are look more like jam, in that they are cooked together with other stuff and bottled. They are still vinegary rather than sugary.

[3okirb]

Dump the pickles from jar 1 into a colander and weigh.  Then do the same for jar 2.  Then you'll have the "pickle weight".

[marblejane]

[happy]

Interestingly I've been having the same debate in my mind about boconccini. A tub of regular balls weigh and costs the same as a tub of "bambini" balls. I was figuring there was more cheese in the bambinis coz they pack closer. There is also the bite-size factor - I will fish out one of the regular balls and eat the whole thing…but may not eat the equivalent in small balls.

Size really matters also when you are buying fruit or other vege by the piece and paying by the kilo. DS had a thing about bananas at one stage, so I would buy the smallest bananas I could since he only ate one at a time.

As for other ridiculous things, I have a collection of soap scraps (you know that last sliver) in a pantyhose leg which I will dunk in hot water and mould into a piece of soap pretty soon.   Some of my efforts to use up stuff bought and forgotten could be described as ridiculous.

[RetiredAt63]

@happy, that is sooo much work!  When the old soap is getting too small, get a new bar, use it, make sure both are nice and lathery, and then press the new one and the old one together and let them dry out together.  Presto, one new bar of soap! No soap scraps!  And yes, how much did I save? Not much.  But I hate throwing out bits and pieces.  Just like I put hot water in the shampoo and conditioner bottles when they seem empty, swish it around, and get one more use.  Nothing wasted, and a cleaner container for the recycling.

The things we do  ;-)  But my parents were teens in the Depression, and I guess the lessons learned then have been carried down in the family.

As for other ridiculous things, I have a collection of soap scraps (you know that last sliver) in a pantyhose leg which I will dunk in hot water and mould into a piece of soap pretty soon.   Some of my efforts to use up stuff bought and forgotten could be described as ridiculous.

[caseyzee]

Weird Karma - I was just looking at this recipe because I'd like to try it this summer with our cucumbers.  Maybe you could try it first.  Of course, I haven't priced it out.

http://altonbrown.com/bread-and-butter-pickle-recipe/

[kib]

Since your kitchen experimenting why don't you just lacto ferment your own pickles?   You can google it but a recipe might be

Cabbage,  pickling cucumbers, garlic, salt

Shred cabbage -- put a layer in crock -- add some salt  --ad a layer of pickles and garlic -- repeat for 4-6 layers.    Mash down till liquid covers and/or add a bit of water.  Cover with towel.

In about a week you will have the most awesome sauerkraut and pickles you ever dreamed of.  And they will be alive and healthy,  not killed and preserved like store bought.   I make kraut all the time and it is awesome.

So end the debate and move onto something that will be a lifelong useful skill.  You can pickle carrots, beets, radishes, mushrooms, garlic, peppers, green beans, onions and just about any veggie.   Make them regular,  spicy or anywhere in between.   Add some pickling spices if you like. 

No refrigeration required.   My problem is always not eating the whole batch in one sitting!

Thank you!  I've been doing my own super simple lacto sauerkraut with cabbage, garlic, dill and salt, and wondering about pickles, which I could apparently do by just inserting some cukes?  Marvelous.

[Megma]

Apparently we aren't the only ones eating lots of pickles!

The small jar of pickles is already empty, finished by BF while I was at work today, so too late to take them out, weigh them and then eat them. This way is slower it's true but we're gonna eat them anyway so also no extra work! I will definitely let you all know the results.

I have considered making our own pickles, believe me, however I don't think it's cost effective unless we grow the cucumbers which we cannot do at our current home (lack of space, sunlight, storage for finished pickles).

[Bob W]

With store bought,  my daughter-in-law loves pickle juice so much I save the juice and she drinks it down.  Its curious no one sells straight bottled pickle juice.   Or do they?

[Bracken_Joy]

With store bought,  my daughter-in-law loves pickle juice so much I save the juice and she drinks it down.  Its curious no one sells straight bottled pickle juice.   Or do they?

In Portland they do =D That should surprise no one. It's actually really tasty... it's sold alongside the beet kvass and drinking vinegars at my co-op, heh.

[dragoncar]

http://youtu.be/tO993fBwCMs

[MrsPete]

Want to save even more money?  Save the juice and buy some cucumbers (on sale if you can). 

I was going to suggest this same thing.  Don't feel that you must stick to cucumbers; I particularly like pickled okra.

I make a potato soup that uses pickle juice; it's not a big favorite, but every now and then I make it for the unique twang. 
And you can use pickle juice to make a Witch Doctor.  We used to love to drink those at the skating rink ... oh, back in middle school.   

Perceived Portion Size has been huge at our house.  It took me forever to get a grip on the fact that these small savings can be completely eradicated by portion size.  If two 12-oz chicken breasts are $.20 per ounce and we each have one for dinner, that's $4.80.  If two 8-oz chicken breasts are $.25 per ounce, that sounds like a really bad deal, except that's $4.00 in chicken we'll be eating and we probably won't notice the missing bit. Of course this can be mitigated by only eating 8 oz each and saving the rest somehow, but at some point the rebellion factor kicks in and I just serve the size I'm presented with.

Yep, that's the other point I was about to make.  If I eat a pickle, I'm going to eat ONE PICKLE ... no matter whether it's a large pickle or a medium-sized pickle. 

Instead of weighing and measuring the juice, I'd approach the experiment from "serving size".  I'd buy a jar of Aldi's brand and a jar of Harris Teeter brand.  I'd pull out all the pickles and count how many SERVINGS each jar provides, and that'd be my answer. 

Shred cabbage -- put a layer in crock -- add some salt  --ad a layer of pickles and garlic -- repeat for 4-6 layers.    Mash down till liquid covers and/or add a bit of water.  Cover with towel.

I just learned to make saurkraut a year or two ago, and WOW is it easy, cheap and good!  I don't particularly care for the stuff at the store, but homemade is different.  And I like it both hot (cooked up with sausages) or cold. 

My recipe's a bit different:  I don't use pickles or garlic, and I do love the addition of caraway seeds.  I make mine in small quantities in a small lidded bean pot.  I'd like to learn to ferment other foods -- I need to go to the library. 

[Bracken_Joy]

Want to save even more money?  Save the juice and buy some cucumbers (on sale if you can). 

I was going to suggest this same thing.  Don't feel that you must stick to cucumbers; I particularly like pickled okra.

I make a potato soup that uses pickle juice; it's not a big favorite, but every now and then I make it for the unique twang. 
And you can use pickle juice to make a Witch Doctor.  We used to love to drink those at the skating rink ... oh, back in middle school.   

Perceived Portion Size has been huge at our house.  It took me forever to get a grip on the fact that these small savings can be completely eradicated by portion size.  If two 12-oz chicken breasts are $.20 per ounce and we each have one for dinner, that's $4.80.  If two 8-oz chicken breasts are $.25 per ounce, that sounds like a really bad deal, except that's $4.00 in chicken we'll be eating and we probably won't notice the missing bit. Of course this can be mitigated by only eating 8 oz each and saving the rest somehow, but at some point the rebellion factor kicks in and I just serve the size I'm presented with.

Yep, that's the other point I was about to make.  If I eat a pickle, I'm going to eat ONE PICKLE ... no matter whether it's a large pickle or a medium-sized pickle. 

Instead of weighing and measuring the juice, I'd approach the experiment from "serving size".  I'd buy a jar of Aldi's brand and a jar of Harris Teeter brand.  I'd pull out all the pickles and count how many SERVINGS each jar provides, and that'd be my answer. 

Shred cabbage -- put a layer in crock -- add some salt  --ad a layer of pickles and garlic -- repeat for 4-6 layers.    Mash down till liquid covers and/or add a bit of water.  Cover with towel.

I just learned to make saurkraut a year or two ago, and WOW is it easy, cheap and good!  I don't particularly care for the stuff at the store, but homemade is different.  And I like it both hot (cooked up with sausages) or cold. 

My recipe's a bit different:  I don't use pickles or garlic, and I do love the addition of caraway seeds.  I make mine in small quantities in a small lidded bean pot.  I'd like to learn to ferment other foods -- I need to go to the library.

If you like kraut with sausage, be sure to make Bigos (Polish Hunter's Stew) if you haven't before. So good!

[I'm a red panda]

With store bought,  my daughter-in-law loves pickle juice so much I save the juice and she drinks it down.  Its curious no one sells straight bottled pickle juice.   Or do they?

In Texas, pickle juice was a very popular snow cone flavor at track and field day.

But I think they just used what was in the jars.

[Megma]

And the results are in!

Aldi pickles (little jar of big pickles)
Beginning weight 725g - 448g empty = 277g pickles for 1.29 = $.00465/gram of pickle

Harris teeter pickles (big jar of little pickles)
Beginning weight 1,945g - 1,015g empty = 930g pickles for 5.79 (I checked the price, my original figure was off) = .00622/gram of pickle

We have also decided we like the taste of the Aldi pickles more when doing this direct comparison, so it's nice when thighs work out 😄

[Gone Fishing]

...so it's nice when thighs work out

Yes it is!

[Bob W]

With store bought,  my daughter-in-law loves pickle juice so much I save the juice and she drinks it down.  Its curious no one sells straight bottled pickle juice.   Or do they?

In Texas, pickle juice was a very popular snow cone flavor at track and field day.

But I think they just used what was in the jars.

Texas does everything a little different!   I love the fried butter concept they use at the State Fair.   Which reminds me that fried pickles are awesome too!

And someone mentioned fried sauerkraut --- Oh yes,  definitely.   Throw some in the frying pan with whatever you like.   Hot kraut is great.    I also make an awesome pork chop, kraut and dumplings.   Brown some pork (chops, sausage, brats etc.)  In a large pot.   Add your kraut on top.   When the kraut is hot and juicy add your homemade dumpling mix to the top.  Cover and cook until the dumplings are done.  (15-20 min)   If you don't mess with the dumplings they come out drier and fluffier that dumplings floated in broth.   MMMM!

[tlars699]

With store bought,  my daughter-in-law loves pickle juice so much I save the juice and she drinks it down.  Its curious no one sells straight bottled pickle juice.   Or do they?

In Portland they do =D That should surprise no one. It's actually really tasty... it's sold alongside the beet kvass and drinking vinegars at my co-op, heh.

DAMN! Oregon?!?!? I live in WI!
razzafrazza...

[lil_miss_frugal]

Want to save even more money?  Save the juice and buy some cucumbers (on sale if you can). 

Slice, quarter or eighth the cucumbers to give them lots of cut-edge space.

Pour the pickle juice into a pan and heat to almost boiling.  While it's heating, pack the cucumber slices into the jar (you could rinse it with boiling water if you were concerned, but I never do).

Set the jar on a folded towel and carefully spoon in the hot juice.  If it doesn't reach the very top, add some heated vinegar or juice from another pickle jar.

Let cool and store in the fridge for a week or so.

You can only reuse the juice once since the fresh cucumbers will dilute the acid too much for it to work again.  Plus the flavors get weaker.

Wow! I will definitely be trying this!!

[lizzzi]

My grandmother always saved the sweet pickle juice and used it for salad dressing. It tastes good on salads.

[netskyblue]

Pop a few hardboiled eggs (shell removed) into the pickle juice and wait a couple days.  They're divine!

[Secretly Saving]

This thread makes me smile.  I can totally see this experiment happening at our house too.

[straycat]

Wait - did I miss something? Who won???? I don't see which of you chose which side. I know Aldi one but you or your bf was right?! Inquiring minds nosey mustachians want to know!

[netskyblue]

Wait - did I miss something? Who won???? I don't see which of you chose which side. I know Aldi one but you or your bf was right?! Inquiring minds nosey mustachians want to know!

I think the OP was the Aldi supporter, and her SO was the HT supporter.

[straycat]

ah - okay. I was getting confused with all of the talk of how much juice/volume of container/more pickles packing in etc. who was supporting which side. I wanted to hear about her bragging rights!

[JoJo]

Since this thread has started down the "what to do with pickle juice", I put a salmon filet in a glass pan, cover with pickle juice & dill weed, and bake.

[Bracken_Joy]

Pop a few hardboiled eggs (shell removed) into the pickle juice and wait a couple days.  They're divine!

If kids are around (or easily impressed adults) throwing in a couple beet chunks and turning the whole things pink seems to be a crowd pleaser!

[Megma]

Wait - did I miss something? Who won???? I don't see which of you chose which side. I know Aldi one but you or your bf was right?! Inquiring minds nosey mustachians want to know!

I think the OP was the Aldi supporter, and her SO was the HT supporter.

Yes, I won! Aldi is almost always a winner 😄 for "cheaper"

Also we might have to try this hard boiled eggs suggestion, thanks netskyblue! For the juice from these pickles were planning to use it as a brine for a whole chicken as apparently that's a thing too, anyone tried that?