The briny depths

You know how sometimes you really love something, and then you start thinking about it and picking it apart and comparing it to other similar somethings, and suddenly you can't even remember what was so appealing about it in the first place? That's kind of what happened with us and pickles. We've always been pro-pickle, never turning down even the limpest sliver. But tasting six brands of kosher dill spears side by side (three refrigerated, three shelf stable) reduced our taste buds to a quivering, pickled pucker. Claussen was unenthusiastically voted the winner, and a few of the selections seemed downright revolting. Our advice: Buy one kind and stick to it. Comparison shopping just might make you doubt something you thought was true. -- KATIE JOHNSTON CHASE

Claussen
$3.49 per 24-ounce jar (refrigerator case)

People were perplexed by the sweet, almost nutmeggy tinge to this popular pickle. One noted that it ``tastes like it came out of storage," another wondered if it was ``an oyster in a pickle's body," and a third denounced its ``flabby texture." But its crisp, fresh crunch and ``mild but opinionated" disposition earned it the top spot by default.

Vlasic
$2.39 per 24-ounce jar

All the vitriol associated with this classic cuke makes you wonder how it got to be so well known. (Advertising works, apparently . ) ``That's like a pickle they would serve you at the cafeteria in grade school," remarked one taster. ``It keeps punching me in the molars." And the complaints kept coming: ``Turmeric, soap, fizz. Eeeew!" ``Mushy and saccharine."

Cains
$2.59 per 24-ounce jar

Some didn't mind this brand, lauding its ``good squeak on the teeth" and ``not too vinegary" quality. ``I would be very pleased to eat them at a company cookout or other such gathering," someone wrote, noting that it ``tastes cooked." Others were less forgiving: ``Yuk! Again, a lab quality"; ``I hate this. Too much dill." It also earned comparisons to relish and celery.

Mt. Olive
$3.19 per 24-ounce jar

``Weird," ``strange," ``funny," ``odd," ``chemically,"``not found in nature." That pretty much sums these dill strips up.

Ba-Tampte
$3.49 per 32-ounce jar (refrigerator case)

We had high hopes for this deli selection with a menorah on the label. But when the words ``gasoline" and ``fossil fuel" enter the equation, you know something's wrong. ``Ew." ``Blech! Totally nasty." ``The worst." ``Ambiguous and depressing and metallic." And in the midst of all this harsh criticism, a sole beacon of hope: ``Good."

Boar's Head
$3.19 per 26-ounce jar (refrigerator case)

Another surprising loser. The brand earned kudos for appearance and crunch, and did earn one unqualified ``yummy," but the complaints were vicious: ``smells and tastes like wet concrete"; ``strange dusty flavor"; ``unpleasant " ``What happened?" asked one taster. ``These barely taste like food. Some sort of awfulness runs through it."