ODESSA, Texas (KMID/KPEJ) – If you’ve been on TikTok (or any other social media outlet) lately, you may have seen people talking about their pickle chamoy kits. But, what are they?

Pickles are cucumbers that have been pickled in a brine and vinegar. They have become a favorite snack food tied to concessions at sports, movies and outdoor events. There are pickle candies, pickle snow cones, pickle slushies and even pickle beers. Pickles are served spicy, sweet, sliced into wedges, circular disks or length wise for sandwich application purposes.

Chamoy has become wildly popular in recent years. The sauce is a Mexican condiment made from ingredients such as sweet dried apricots, spicy chile de arbol, salty Tajin seasoning, and sour hibiscus flowers. Most commonly chamoy sauce is served at fruit stands drizzled over fresh mango, watermelon, cucumbers, and jicama. It also graces other sweet street food like paletas (popsicles), raspados (shaved ice), and helados (ice cream). This sweet, salty, sour, spicy sauce is an explosion of flavor and completely addictive. Drizzle over fresh fruit, rim your cocktail glass, or eat it with a spoon!

Today, the pairing of pickles and chamoy is taking over the internet. People are ordering pickle chamoy kits which contain a pickle soaking in a chamoy infused vinegar brine, chamoy, tajin and a variation of tajin and chamoy coated candies. These kits can cost between $10 and $30 on line.

Recipe’s for the chamoy pickle are popping up all over social media. And, influencers are taking to social media with blind reactions as they taste test this delectable pairing. The combination of the sour pickle and the spicy/sweet chamoy instantly create a mouthwatering reaction. But, this isn’t for the faint of heart of for people with a distaste for spicy or sour tasting foods. There is no flavor quite like it. The profile features the initial salty brine of the vinegar and then a warm heat starts to develop which is then followed with a smoky sweetness from the dried apricots in the chamoy. If you are brave enough to top it all off with the Tajin, the finality of it is a lemon/lime sour that hits you in the jaw and an added bite from the chile in the powdery coating.

Pickling was used as a way to preserve food during a time without refrigeration. However, I don’t think early pioneers of this method ever thought a simple cucumber would become such a useful staple. Or, that it would be paired with such an unassuming topping.