A pickle, massive and intensely red, is removed from a plastic bag. After its vibrant innards are scooped out and discarded, the pickle is stuffed with spicy-flavored gummy candy, followed by Takis, and topped off with even more chamoy sauce. Since that wasn’t enough, the creation is wrapped up in a red fruit roll-up.
This process, believe it or not, has been repeated over and over — in TikTok videos, at parties, and even at U-High. This is a chamoy pickle.
Long before the chamoy pickle, TikTok had spurred offbeat food preparation trends — from upside down puff pastry to hashbrown McFlurry sandwiches. Peculiar as some of these recipes may be, they also have made food preparation more creative and fun than the cookbooks of earlier generations, U-High students say.
“I think that TikTok food trends like the chamoy pickle are a great way to add a fun twist to a seemingly ordinary food,” Mercury Romero, a ninth grader, said. “It provides an opportunity for people to experience flavors from different cultures while adding their own flare, and it’s definitely something I would try again.”
Mercury made chamoy pickles at her quinceañera. The trend combined Mexican flavors that she was already familiar with the sweetness of the sugary toppings.
“Chamoy is a popular flavor in Mexican food and something I had tried before, but I hadn’t seen it being used in a pickle kit like on social media,” Mercury said. “Seeing how popular it got and how quickly it spread to other cultures immediately made me want to try it and include it in my quinceañera.”
Mercury said that the process of constructing the pickle itself was the most engaging.
“My favorite part of making a chamoy pickle was assembling it,” Mercury said. “Being able to choose which toppings and how much of everything I wanted was really nice. I think being able to customize the chamoy pickle to your preferences is one thing that makes it a great treat.”
But students aren’t just participating in this trend at parties or at home. Yolo Martinez, a senior, made a chamoy pickle with her friend in the senior lounge earlier this year. Like Mercury, she was also familiar with some of the flavors in the chamoy pickle.
“My mouth was watering the whole time because I was familiar with the taste of the candies that it consisted of. I knew it was going to be delicious,” Yolo said. “And it kind of was.”
Yolo said the process of assembling the pickle was fun. She recommends trying it — even if you don’t expect to enjoy it.
“Don’t knock it ’til you try it. Obviously everyone has different likes and dislikes, so if you don’t like it that’s OK. I would definitely try something like this again.”
