I Tried Selena Gomez’s Favorite Jarred Pickles, and I’ve Never Tasted Ones Like This

There are two kinds of people in this world: those who like pickles, and those who don’t. And if you’re a fan of the “olive theory” from How I Met Your Mother, those two types of people seem to always wind up together.

Perhaps an exception to that relationship truth is one of our favorite celebrity couples: Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco. The more we learn about this pair, the more there is to love — like how his cookbook’s steak night recipe also seems to always get him some “love.” 

It’s widely known that Gomez loves herself a good pickle. Her favorite treat when she was growing up was a pickle brine snow cone topped with chopped pickles (she made Jimmy Fallon try it; he did not share her affection for it). Her Christmas tree this year even had its very own pickle jar ornament. So when we heard that Gomez’s favorite pickle brand is Best Maid, we had to try it for ourselves. 

As Benny mentions in the TikTok video that exposed Gomez’s favorite pickles in the first place, her beloved pickles have to be shipped all the way from Texas. But the couple seems to think they’re worth it.

The Fort Worth-based brand has humble beginnings; it started in Mansfield, Texas, in 1924 when Mildred Dalton started making mayonnaise and later pickles for her husband’s grocery store. Slowly those jars became cases, and those cases became truckloads. Now, Best Maid is the largest family-owned and -operated manufacturer of shelf-stable pickles in the U.S.

The brand has way more offerings than just Gomez’s favorite hamburger slices. They’ve got dill-flavored sauces and even pickle juice for sale. And the ingredients have remained simple over time. The first four ingredients of the pickles are sliced cucumber, water, vinegar, and sea salt — just what I want to see on my salty treat’s label. 

You can order Best Maid pickles on Amazon or find them in stores at Walmart, Sam’s Club, H-E-B, and a few more spots.

I like to think I know pickles, just like Gomez. And these pickles are so delicious. They’ve got a tang that I’ve only tasted before in homemade pickles from a deli — never from another jarred option. Because they have so much flavor, I was surprised to find that the pickling brine doesn’t have any loose herbs or spices.

My favorite thing, besides the flavor, is the crunch. I sometimes find that pickles can be a little mushy and soft from sitting in their brine for so long. While I’m obviously not sure how long these guys have been pickling away, they are still ridiculously crunchy and crisp. For anyone actually putting these pickles on a burger or sandwich, not just eating them straight out of the jar like me, I know they will pack the perfect amount of flavor and crunch to really seal the deal. 

Something else I wanted to try was dipping popcorn in pickle juice, which Gomez is infamous for. Considering her love of pickle snow cones, I had my reservations. But she was right, again — I loved this savory upgrade to another fave salty snack of mine.

The jars say “burgers have begged for my company since 1926,” and I understand why. These pickles are the perfect combination of tang, salt, and crunch. When I run out of my jar, I might just find myself begging for another. I get the hype — thank you, Selena. And thank you, Benny, for broadcasting the Best Maid pickles.

Buy: Best Maid Hamburger Pickles, $22.95 for two 24-ounce jars on Amazon.

This post originally appeared on The Kitchn. See it there: I’d Drive All the Way to Texas for These “Perfect” Jarred Pickles (They’re Selena Gomez’s Favorite!)