@wirecutter
Instagram · Interview Q&A
@wirecutter What makes a mouth-watering, crunchy, briny pickle? For our new guide to the best store-bought pickles, writer Maki Yazawa (@makifeed) spoke with industry experts to learn about the craft, including Alan Kaufman, the founder and owner of @pickleguys in New York City. While he did give us the inside scoop on how the best pickles are made, we were unable to secure the secret brine formula 😔 See all ten of our pickle picks at the link bio.
Performance
Video #30765 · Interview Q&A
[01]
The creator, Alan Kaufman of The Pickle Guys, demonstrates how to make traditional pickles based on a 1910 recipe. He starts by making a secret brine formula, then adds Kirby cucumbers to a barrel, pours in the brine, and adds chopped garlic and a spice blend. He explains the fermentation process and then showcases the different stages of pickles—new, half-sour, and full-sour—explaining the time it takes for each, and has an interviewer taste the final product.
[02]
[03]
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[05]
What stops the scroll in the first 3 seconds
Title hook · 20%
Making Pickles with The Pickle Guys
Verbal hook · 65%
45 years and I'm still eating pickles.
Visual hook · 15%
A close-up shot of a man's hands in black gloves arranging fresh cucumbers in a large red barrel filled with brine and spices, immediately showing a hands-on food preparation process.
[06]
Steal this for your own video
I've been making for years using a recipe — and here's exactly how it's done.
[07]
The promise the opener makes, and how the video pays it back
Hook
An expert establishes deep, long-term credibility and passion for their craft with a personal statement of dedication.
Payoff
The Hidden Value Reveal: The expert shares a surprising, high-value use for a byproduct of the process, reframing a potential waste item as a valuable asset and leaving the viewer with a final piece of 'insider' knowledge.
[08]
The structural pattern this video runs on
Framework
The Master's Process
An expert guide takes the viewer behind the scenes to reveal the step-by-step creation of a beloved product, culminating in a tasting and a final 'insider' secret.
The Legacy Claim
The expert grounds the process in history and tradition, establishing the product's authenticity and time-tested quality.
The Secret Foundation Tease
The expert begins the process with a foundational step but deliberately withholds a key piece of information (e.g., a 'secret formula'), creating intrigue and establishing proprietary knowledge.
The Core Assembly
The raw materials are combined with the foundational element in a visually clear and satisfying action.
The Sensory Climax
The most potent, aromatic, or visually impactful ingredients are added, with the expert explicitly calling attention to the sensory experience.
The Transformation Timeline
The expert explains the stages of maturation, showing how the product evolves over time from its raw state to its various finished forms, educating the viewer on the nuances of the craft.
The Expert's Pick
After revealing the final results, the expert makes a definitive judgment, anointing one version as the 'best' or most popular, guiding the viewer's preference.
What makes a mouth-watering, crunchy, briny pickle? For our new guide to the best store-bought pickles, writer Maki Yazawa (@makifeed) spoke with industry experts to learn about the craft, including Alan Kaufman, the founder and owner of @pickleguys in New York City. While he did give us the inside scoop on how the best pickles are made, we were unable to secure the secret brine formula 😔 See all ten of our pickle picks at the link bio.
contextual · beginning
Alan Kaufman FOUNDER OF THE PICKLE GUYS
title · beginning
Making Pickles with The Pickle Guys
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Barrel filled with water
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Maki Yazawa WRITER AT WIRECUTTER
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Table salt
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Empty barrel
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Kirby cucumbers
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Chopped garlic
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Spice blend
informational · middle
✓ Let it sit
informational · end
Pickles fermenting for less than two weeks are “new.”
informational · end
After two weeks, they’re considered “half pickles.”
informational · end
After three months, they are full sour pickles.
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New
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Half sour
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Full sour
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Full sour pickle
Twenty five years rank I'm still eating pickles. My name is Al, and I'm the pickle guy. The actual cucumber pickles are the original recipes from 1910, and we're gonna make brine first. Brine is salt rank water is known as brine. Is there a particular ratio that you use? Oh, I got a secret formula. Oh, you can't tell us. I can't tell you the secret formula. We're gonna let this stir. Clockwise rotation? Yeah. You do the other way too. It depends if you're in Australia or not. We're gonna take cucumbers rank you catch the ones that pull out. Okay? Now we're gonna take that brine that we just made and we're gonna put it in that barrel right there. Everything's done by hand. We're in our machines to do this. Tier requirements to work here is a strong back and a weak mind. We get to my favorite part. Get a wolf of that, baby. Garlic, chopped garlic. We take a scoop of that stuff in tier. We get to our spice blend. Sprinkle that on top, and that's pretty much it that's in there. We'll put an insert on top to keep it pressed down Okay. So as it fermentates. Yeah. And then that's it. But I got some here I'm gonna let you try. Okay? Same exact one you just made. You let them sit for two weeks. You see how they change color? Mhmm. And that's three months. Okay. Yeah. Give that a shot. And this one's your best seller? Best seller. I sell that more than anything else. I kinda call it the Cadillac of pickles. And the actual pickle brine is great for hangovers. If you have a hangover Oh, yeah. Straighten it right out. Every brine here is made specifically for its own product. Tier old days, we used to take the brine and dispose of it in the sewer system. But no, I sell it. Gold of your rice. I sell it now. It's like liquid gold.