It’s a quandary, you might even say it’s a pickle. The humble cucumber is turning heads, finding millions of adoring fans who want to jar it, showcase it, wear it, even eat it. The pickle is having a moment, going on for a while now, inspiring an obsession across Instagram and TikTok and in real life homes.

It reminds me of a joke that I just made up right now. “A pickle walks into a bar. No big dill.” But they are a big deal. Pickles are so hot right now. Centuries after European, Middle Eastern and immigrant grandmothers everywhere first started making the humble brined veg, Gen Z and their ilk have declared they love nothing more than chomping down on a pickle. The kids on TikTok are all over it. But why?

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It’s time to crack open the jar and crunch the numbers. There’s an ever-lengthening list of viral pickle-related content out there. The polarising vegetable has appeared in trends spanning #girldinners and “chickles”, and last year Kmart sold out of “pickle flip jars” to much social media uproar. There’s a pickle sweatshirt you need, and this year Heinz has plans for a pickle ketchup product. And if you haven’t done the hot-pickle-challenge are you even in the room?

Last year radio host Amanda Holden jumped on the pickle bandwagon when she held a “big papa pickle” up to her nose, declaring it was going to be spicy. Crunchy, sour, “really good”, she said. It was an anti-climatic response compared to other influencers, celebrities and everyday people taking videos of themselves eating a Van Holten’s Pickle and sharing their reactions with the world.

The #picklesweatshirt hashtag has garnered more than 228 million views on TikTok. Videos feature a plush cotton jumper with a four-by-four grid of pickle jars from various brands printed on the front. There are a few versions of the top out there, but the most popular is the US$44 sweatshirt by @badaddictionboutique, which touts itself as a “boutique for hotmess anxious moms” and has reached peaks of selling 1000-2000 daily.

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An unfathomably huge number of TikTok users want one. An apparent-teenager mock-mourns in a TikTok while crying: “Morning. Cuz if it were a good morning I would have the viral pickle sweatshirt”, to 231,000 likes.

The pickle sweatshirt’s popularity has emphatically confused many on both social media and real life: Why pickles? “Why the f— is everyone buying this pickle sweatshirt? It’s just a bunch of pickles,” says @familyfriendlyrwang in a TikTok that has garnered over 3 million views.

“I don’t get it. Why pickles? Why not kimchi?”

The chickle is another sensation, spurred on by TikTok and labelled “the perfect snack” but actually just melted cheese allowed to cool to a crispy taco shape and wrapped around a pickle. Advocates illustrate their cooking prowess on social media using a nonstick pan, cooking spray, sliced cheese, and a pickle to recreate what is basically a pickle-in-a-blanket.

If this is a viral recipe, patient zero was @clurmurr on TikTok who says “my husband thinks it’s gross, but I think I can find someone else out there who either makes this or will enjoy this”. More than 13 million people have now seen that video.

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Pickles are polarising and those who are vibing them are attracted to their sharp, surprising taste. Pickle popularity arose during the pandemic, when jars and storable food were a sensible shopping choice. At the time there was an at-home cottage industry of pickling and bread making, and the fermentation trend made sense. Gen Z, the TikTok generation, was affected by this perfect storm.

There’s nothing new about a food item being adopted by a generation of taste makers. Food is the new rock and roll, and the latest entry of people into adulthood has taken the pickle as its edible icon. It makes sense for Gen Z. They take their health seriously and the homemade version of the pickle at least is good for your gut.

Pickles are to Gen Z what avocados were to Millennials: a larger-than-life emblem appearing on birthday cards, socks, dog toys and sweatshirts. We can only hope that pickles, like avocados, are never blamed for the financial struggles of an entire generation.

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