Why Pickles Should Be Your Festival Food Headliner
Words: Hannah Lemass
Images: Unsplash
All Together Now is upon us, and while we’re all set for a rollicking good time enjoying the lineup, knocking back a few (or copious amounts of) drinks, and generally soaking up the vibes with mates, the idea of a four-day camping festival can be a bit daunting. Sure, worries about sleep and hygiene will arise, but most of all, there’s the anxiety over the food situation.
Now, ATN provides a fantastic spread with some of the best food services a festival could offer, but most of us can’t afford to dine out for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. So, we’ll be packing our bags with snacks and treats for those in-between munchies. The question is, what to bring? The answer is, pickles!
Why Pickles Are the GOAT of Festival Snacks
We stumbled upon a little Reddit post that backs up our thoughts. User ctive-Translator-90 asked the pertinent question,“What’s good food to pack for a 4 day festival “ and others flooded the comment section with pickle praise. And rightly so. The pickle is a perfect festival food for several reasons.
Let’s get into it.
Portable
Toss a batch of pickle boys in your bag. Bring a little fork or dive in with your fingers for quick, satisfying, and delicious snacking. Just remember that most festivals, including All Together Now, don’t allow glass containers, so you’ll want to decant them into a safe container or find a plastic jar at the shop.
Taste
Pickles are delicious! The perfect balance of sweet and salty with a briny little kick. They come in so many varieties you can get pickles to satisfy almost any craving.
Health Benefits
The main reason pickles are a good choice is that they are a hangover hero. Pickles are chock-full of sodium, potassium, and other essential minerals, which can help you replenish your electrolytes and counteract the dehydrating effects of alcohol. They also have nutrients like vitamin K, vitamin A, and manganese, which can also be depleted by alcohol.
The Perfect Festival Charcuterie Spread
Don’t relegate yourself to bruised bananas and the crumbled sandy nubbins of the Nature Valley granola at the bottom of your rucksack. Just because we’re camping doesn’t mean we have to slum it when it comes to food. We recommend making pickles the star of a festival CHAR-cuterie spread. Afterall headliners need a great line up of supporting acts. Here’s what to bring to have an elevated culinary moment on the picturesque ground of the Curraghmore Estate.
Sourdough Bread
Bring a big loaf of pre-sliced sourdough. Sourdough has a unique ability to still be good even when it’s not at its freshest. Sometimes, when you’re having a good time, you just need a little lump of carbs in your belly to keep you going.
Tinned Fish
Not just your standard tinned tuna, although that’s a perfectly fine option. But those boujee tinned sardines or mackerel in oil will soak into the bread, and that salty, savory, buttery-rich fish will line the stomach very nicely.
Cured Meats
A good air-dried meat is a satisfying way to get your protein in. It’s great paired with bread and oil. You can even get jerky if you’re worried about it going rancid in the sun.
Olives
Similar to pickles, olives can stay fresh thanks to the brine. They’re a perfect poppable little snack, and you can get a great variety of flavors. They’re not for everybody, which is great because more for the olive lovers.
Hard Cheese
If you really need a cheesy fix (we sure do), make sure you stick to hard cheese like Parmigiano-Reggiano and Gouda. They hold up a lot better without refrigeration because of their lower moisture content. They are also arguably the most flavorsome and delicious cheeses out there that will work really nicely with the other elements of your spread.
So there you have it — a beautiful festival spread that will keep you trucking along between big food truck feeds. And of course, remember to bring plenty of water and emergency snacks, too. Protein bars, jellies, and crisps all have a place in your festival food arsenal, but these options could bring a little refinement and innovation to your campsite picnic.
Elsewhere on Char: The 8 Types Of Eater You’ll Find At Every Irish Festival
