The Aldi Hamburger Pickles That Apparently Lose Their Crunch

Aldi has found itself in something of a, er, pickle with its pickles after a Reddit post poured scorn over the quality of one of the supermarket giant's offerings. Despite the mighty pickle being as important to hamburgers as oxygen is to humans (maybe even more so, some might argue), the Great Gherkins brand of Hamburger Dill Chips sold in jars at Aldi has faced widespread criticisms of persistently serving up soggy pickles.

The 32-ounce jars can be found on the shelves of Aldi for around $2.29, but — let's be frank — crunchless pickles aren't worth a single cent. Users on Reddit attest that the pickles used to be honorably crunchy, but have since deteriorated to the point of providing "zero crunch." One commenter even claims to have "flushed them down the toilet" to replace the jar with pickles purchased from Aldi's chilled section — an odds-on better place to find crunchy pickles, according to Redditors.

But why might Aldi's pickles be so soggy — and what should you do if you encounter a disappointing jar?

Pickles are basically the spoiled brat of the food world: As sublime as they undoubtedly are, they can become troublesome for a whole host of reasons. If the salt or vinegar content in the brine is too low, or there isn't enough brine to cover the pickles, sogginess is likely to result — which will also be the case if moldy ingredients (such as garlic and spices) or cucumbers damaged by blossom-end rot have been used.

Ideally, cucumbers should be stored at between 70 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit during fermentation, so perhaps the most predictable reason for sogginess is that the pickles have suffered from high heat — or simply haven't been processed correctly to eliminate microorganisms. If spoilage is evident, the pickles must not be eaten. If they've gone bad, jars of pickles may display mold, cloudiness, fizziness, and have gone mushy.

If you notice a problem with your Aldi pickles, don't go soft! If the product is substandard, the best action to take is to return it to an Aldi store for a refund and choose a different pickle product in the future. If a soggy pickle problem persists, you could complain to Aldi to make them aware of the problem so that it can hopefully be rectified.