Ah, I suspected as much.
I am not familiar with American sweet pickles, but do like the German and Scandinavian ones.
The odd thing is that I don’t dislike it as such, but prefer it in small amounts and diced into quite small pieces - when I go out to eat I tend to find it is usually a key component of the vegetarian options available (eg veggie lasagne) and usually left in quite large chunks! Over time it’s put me off more and more
It seems to be one of if not the main vegetarian stand in for a usually meat based dish, at least where I have gone and opted for vegetarian food. Again, how it’s prepared is also a factor in putting me off! I have had food that hasn’t had it in of course, but it just seems overly prevalent for something I’m not keen on
As a teenager, on my first ever visit to France, I came across aubergines in a dish called ratatouille (one of my favourites) and was smitten - I had no idea that food could taste like this - coming from our isles with our tradition of execrable cuisine, I had no idea that vegetable dishes (we used to boil them to death, murdered meat and assassinated vegetables were our culinary specialties) could be treated in such an attractive and flavoursome manner.
That was my introduction to aubergines; pricked and salted, then roasted or sautéed, they can be delicious. I have grilled them, too, with peppers, this lends an attractive 'smokiness' to them.
Roasted, and served with roasted courgettes (zucchini), tomatoes, garlic and peppers, and drizzled with olive oil, you have a dish that accompanies everything and can be served hot or cold in summer.
The Germans - and central Europeans and Scandinavians - are experts in pickling, preserving, salting and smoking foods.
