Keyla Rodriguez

Trying out the Chamoy Pickle in Yearbook class was such a unique experience. The messy assembly and forcing Mr. Battaglini to try the concoction was the most amusing. “I didn’t hate it, but I wouldn’t buy it,” he said.

Watching videos of people eating is strange, but many find it entertaining. The rise in popularity of these ‘mukbang’ videos in which people eat food on camera has been popularized on TikTok. 

Lately, most TikTok food videos have all involved an overload of Red 40 and spice-filled food items. The oddest and most infamous food being eaten in these hit videos is the Chamoy Pickle Kit. The kit features a pickle brined in Chamoy (A Mexican condiment that tastes sour, sweet, and spicy. Often paired with fruit and Tajin seasoning). Most kits come with the pickle and classic Mexican snacks including; Salsaghetti Skwinkles, Lucas Polvo, Lucas Gusano, Takis, Hot Cheetos, and Fruit Roll-Ups. 

Clips of people trying the Chamoy Pickle Kit often showed up on my FYP and its insane bright red appearance and odd food combination intrigued me, influencing me to try it because of its absurdness. 

Even though I hate pickles, I am Mexican so I grew up on all the snacks that come in the kit. As a matter of fact, I LOVE almost anything containing that delicious Red 40. Ordering the Chamoy Pickle Kit was extremely easy. All I did was search it up on the TikTok shop and find the cheapest option.  I ended up ordering a 16-piece kit from CandyMex Express including: 2 Chamoy Pickles; 2 Salsaghetti; 2 Gushers; 2 Hot Cheetos; 2 Fruit Roll Ups; 2 Lucas Powder; 2 Lucas Liquid; 2 Takis. The original pricing was $32.99 but was on sale for $28.00 and with a 30% coupon that the TikTok shop offered me, my total ended up being $10.15 with free shipping. I would definitely say that it was a great deal for the amount of items included. Another plus was that it was fast shipping, I received my package in less than a week.

Assembling the Chamoy Pickle and its fixings was fun but incredibly messy. There is no right way to assemble a Chamoy Pickle, so the kit did not include any instructions as the sellers rely on the assumption that consumers already know the basics from TikTok. The Chamoy brine stained my hands bright red and I had difficulties cutting into the pickle. The skin of the pickle was tough and getting a spoon inside the pickle to scoop out the hole was hard because of the juice’s slipperiness. Even wrapping the pickle in the Fruit Roll-Up was annoying because it didn’t fully fit around the whole pickle and it left my hand with sticky candy residue. Aesthetically, it looked insanely good, but as I caught whiffs of the dill smell the more it began to gross me out and the more I hesitated to take my first bite.

The climax of the whole experience was undoubtedly the very first bite. I made sure to get a bit of everything for an authentic review, although it was hard digging in my teeth because of the tough skin. Immediately after the first bite I wanted to gag because of the strong pickle taste, but the more I chewed the better it got. The flavors of the add-ons mixed incredibly well as they all had similar seasonings but the taste of the Chamoy Pickle stuck out and not in a good way. The Chamoy Pickle tasted like a regular pickle, I wasn’t getting that distinct Chamoy taste, so that was a bit disappointing. Unexpectedly, it wasn’t tart, vinegary, or even spicy, it was weirdly sweet. On another note, when you stuff the fixings into the pickle you need to try and evenly distribute the ingredients, or else you’ll get too much of one item and an inconsistent taste.

Overall, I would say that the Chamoy Pickle Kit didn’t quite live up to my expectations, but it was a worthwhile experience. The flavor was pretty good, not the best but also not the worst, I declare the Chamoy Pickle as a ‘Yum’ and rate it a solid 7/10, while it wasn’t my favorite-tasting food it did become my favorite food-eating experience. Although, if it was a cucumber instead of a brined pickle, it would’ve definitely been a 10/10 for me. While I wouldn’t eat it as a regular everyday snack, I think everyone should try it at least once in their lives just for the experience.