Swoon: Kool-Aid Pickles

Five brightly-colored mason jars containing different types of pickles in Kool-Aid
Pucker up for pickles soused in Kool-Aid.

Tony Valainis

Bite into a sandwich from Smoking Goose Meatery’s new Catering by Goose (407 Dorman St., 317-638-6328) arm, and you might notice the sweet taste of a distant childhood memory. Look closer: It’s a pickle soused in Kool-Aid. The act of soaking sour pickles in the sugary drink is a Southern DIY creation. The combination of fruity flavor and salty crunch is a piquant addition to any dish or charcuterie, both for regular diners and pickle connoisseurs, including those who chomped into Smoking Goose’s contribution to this year’s Rev event: a fried-bologna-and-pimento-cheese sandwich on Japanese milk bread with Kool-Aid pickles. These colorful grape pickle spears, green-apple jalapeños, Hawaiian Punch pickle chips, orange pepper rings, and blue-raspberry okra can be purchased in the Whole Hog Carving Station package. But for a fee, you can get pickled with any order.