When you belly up to the counter at Subway and start calling the shots on your custom sandwich, those humble pickle chips are likely an afterthought. But for many of us sandwich lovers, no sub is truly complete without a generous helping of those crunchy, briny dill pickles. They‘re the tangy exclamation point that rounds out all the flavors and textures of a well-crafted hoagie.
But what‘s the story behind Subway‘s signature pickles? What goes into growing, processing, and preparing these tasty sandwich toppers? And why do they hit the spot every time? As a retail expert and self-proclaimed pickle aficionado, I‘ve done a deep dive into the world of Subway pickles. Let‘s take a closer look at what makes their dill spears and chips so darn dill-icious.
The Power of the Pickle
Before we get into the specifics of Subway‘s pickle protocol, let‘s start with an important question: Why are pickles such a popular sandwich add-on in the first place? What is it about these sour, salty slices that makes them an essential part of the perfect sub, burger, or bagel sandwich?
The answer lies in the power of pickles to complement and enhance a wide variety of ingredients. According to a study by Datassential, a food industry research firm, pickles are the 8th most popular sandwich topping in the U.S., with 32% of respondents saying they typically add them to their sandwich orders. The only toppings that ranked higher were lettuce, tomato, onion, mayonnaise, mustard, cheese, and hot sauce.
But why do pickles pair so well with everything from cold cuts to fried chicken sandwiches? The secret is in the acidity. The sour, briny punch of a dill pickle provides a bright contrast to rich, fatty meats and cheeses. The vinegary tang cuts through the heaviness of the other ingredients and lightens up the overall flavor profile. Pickles also add a satisfying crunch to soft sandwich fillings, providing a nice textural counterpoint.
Food scientist and author Harold McGee explains it like this in his book "On Food and Cooking":
"The sharp lactic acidity of pickled vegetables goes well with the rich unctuousness of meats, and helps to lighten a meal by refreshing the palate between bites of the main course. The crisp, juicy texture of a good pickle likewise contrasts with the tenderness of cooked meats."
In other words, pickles are the ultimate sandwich sidekick. They‘re the Robin to the cold cut‘s Batman, the Chewbacca to the sliced cheese‘s Han Solo. They make any sandwich more exciting and well-rounded.
A Pickle Primer
Now that we know why pickles are such an important part of the sandwich experience, let‘s do a quick pickle primer to understand exactly what Subway is slicing up fresh each day.
At their most basic, pickles are just cucumbers that have been preserved in an acidic solution, usually brine (salt water) or vinegar. The high acidity of the solution creates an environment that‘s inhospitable to the bacteria and enzymes that would normally cause a cucumber to decay. Instead, healthy bacteria called Lactobacillus take over and convert the cucumber‘s sugars into lactic acid. This process, known as lactic acid fermentation, is what gives pickles their signature sour flavor.
Different types of pickles use different base liquids, spices, and preserving methods to achieve their desired taste and texture. For classic dill pickles like the ones Subway uses, the brine typically includes dill weed, dill seed, mustard seed, coriander, and garlic in addition to the vinegar, water, and salt. The cucumbers are soaked whole in the seasoned brine inside an airtight container for several weeks to several months, depending on the recipe.
The longer the pickles ferment, the more sour and intense they become. After reaching the desired flavor and texture, the pickles are refrigerated to slow down any further fermentation. When it‘s time to make sandwiches, the whole pickles are sliced into spears or chips as needed.
So in summary, the dill pickles you find on your Subway sandwich are simply cucumbers that have taken a nice long vinegar vacation with some dill and spices. But as any pickle lover knows, that humble origin story results in a truly transcendent sandwich experience.
The Subway Standard
So what exactly goes into a Subway pickle? According to the ingredients list, Subway pickles contain cucumbers, water, distilled vinegar, salt, calcium chloride, polysorbate 80, natural flavors, and yellow 5. This is a fairly standard, no-frills recipe as far as dill pickles go.
The calcium chloride is a common additive that helps keep the pickles crisp, while the polysorbate 80 is an emulsifier that keeps the spices evenly distributed in the brine. The natural flavors and yellow 5 add a little boost to the flavor and color.
Compared to some other common varieties of dill pickles, the Subway version appears to be a pretty straightforward crowd-pleaser. Kosher dill pickles, for instance, typically include garlic, while Polish dills are known for having more spices and dill weed. Subway seems to opt for a balanced, basic dill pickle that appeals to a wide range of palates.
Mark Christiano, Subway‘s Global Culinary Innovation Manager, shared a little more insight into their pickle process in a 2014 interview :
"We use a traditional whole dill pickle that is sliced fresh daily in the restaurants. Our pickle supplier makes a really high-quality, crunchy pickle with a great taste and look—all the things we need to be the perfect complement to our sandwiches. We only slice the amount of pickles we need for that day to ensure every sandwich gets the crisp, fresh pickle they deserve."
When you bite into a Subway pickle, you‘ll notice they deliver exactly what you want from a dill pickle chip: a clean, satisfying crunch, bright acidity, and a balanced dill flavor that doesn‘t overwhelm. They‘ve got just the right amount of salty-sour-savory to cut through the richness of the meats and cheeses without stealing the spotlight. In my opinion, it‘s a near-perfect pickle experience.
By the Numbers: Subway Pickle Stats
As a numbers nerd, I couldn‘t resist digging into some data on Subway‘s pickle prowess. Here are some impressive stats I found:
- Subway goes through about 21.6 million pickle spears per day across their nearly 44,000 stores worldwide. That‘s enough pickles to stretch around the Earth almost 3 times!
- Laid end-to-end, all the pickle chips Subway serves in a year would reach from the Earth to the moon and back again—twice.
- If you stacked up all the pickle jars Subway empties each year, the pile would be over 500 times taller than the Empire State Building.
Sources: Subway Pickle Calculator, Subway Sustainability Report
Clearly, pickles are big business for Subway. And with numbers like that, it‘s obvious that their simple dill pickles are a major draw for customers. When you do anything at that massive of a scale, you‘ve got to have incredibly streamlined systems and top-notch quality control to pull it off.
While Subway hasn‘t shared specifics on their pickle sourcing or production process (the pickle recipe is a closely guarded trade secret), it‘s safe to say they have an ultra-optimized supply chain to keep up with that kind of demand. From the farmers growing the cucumbers to the brining facilities to the individual franchise owners slicing away each morning, everyone has to operate like a well-oiled dill pickle machine.
Pile ‘Em On
Luckily for pickle lovers like myself, Subway has a pretty generous pickle policy. According to their nutrition calculator, a standard serving of pickles on a Footlong sub includes about 7-9 chips, which clocks in at less than 5 calories.
But here‘s the beautiful thing: that‘s just the default amount. You can ask for as many extra pickles as you want, free of charge. For the true pickle fiend, "make it a double" is always an option. In fact, a former Subway employee shared that there‘s technically no limits to the number of pickles you can put on a sandwich:
"Subway has a specified amount of pickles that are supposed to go on a footlong and six inch sandwich, but if a customer asks for more, they can get as many pickles as they want…First the customer asks for ‘extra pickles.‘ Then they ask for a ‘few more.‘ I have had a few customers that wanted a lot and the pickles literally went end to end on the sandwich. The customer got probably five times the amount that was supposed to go on there, but they were happy."
So there you have it, folks. Subway isn‘t just offering a perfect dill pickle experience—they‘re offering an infinitely customizable one. Want your Italian BMT with a side of pickle? Just say the word.
To Pickle, or Not to Pickle?
Of course, asking for extra pickles does beg the question: Could there ever be too much of a good thing? Honestly, it all comes down to personal preference.
For some sandwich eaters, a little pickle goes a long way. The vinegary kick and crunchy texture can be overwhelming if it‘s not balanced out by the other ingredients. Piling on too many pickles could drown out the nuanced flavors of the meats, cheeses, and sauces.
But for others, you can never have enough pickle power. A true pickle fanatic sees each chip as an opportunity for another hit of salty, crunchy bliss. A sandwich without wall-to-wall pickle coverage is simply a missed opportunity. These are the folks who add pickles to their pizza, their popcorn, and even their ice cream (seriously, pickle soft serve is a real thing).
Subway seems to understand the importance of letting each customer‘s pickle freak flag fly. By making pickles an unlimited, free add-on, they‘ve created a veritable wonderland for dill devotees and casual pickle enjoyers alike.
Personally, my perfect pickle-to-sandwich ratio is about 1 pickle chip per inch of sandwich. Any less than that and I start to miss the acidity and crunch; any more and the pickles take over. But that‘s just me. You do you, pickle people.
The Price of Pickle Perfection
As with any ingredient served in high volume, there‘s always the question of quality control and waste. Does Subway sacrifice flavor for convenience by using pre-sliced pickle chips? How much unused pickle ends up in the trash each day?
Based on Christiano‘s comments in the earlier interview, it‘s clear that Subway prioritizes pickle freshness as much as possible. Slicing the pickles in-store each day ensures that customers get the crispiest, crunchiest chips possible.
But as a former Subway employee shared on Reddit, this daily slicing protocol does inevitably lead to some pickle waste, especially during slower shifts:
"At the end of the night, any of the veggies (including pickles) that were cut go into the garbage."
While it may seem like a small thing to toss a few leftover pickle chips, that waste can really add up over thousands of stores. And with cucumbers taking up to 90 days to grow, pickle waste means a lot of water, time, and labor goes down the drain.
Some back-of-the-napkin math shows just how much impact this could have at scale:
- If each of Subway‘s ~25,000 US locations throws out just 1 oz of sliced pickles per day, that adds up to nearly 400,000 lbs of pickles wasted per year in the US alone.
- The average cucumber harvest yields about 7.5 tons per acre. This means that Subway US‘s annual sliced pickle waste would come from nearly 27 acres of cucumbers. That‘s over 20 football fields worth of cukes!
Of course, this pickle problem isn‘t unique to Subway. Any restaurant that serves high volumes of sliced produce has to balance freshness with waste. And to their credit, Subway has taken steps to reduce waste in other areas, like eliminating plastic straws and transitioning to paper-based packaging.
But as consumers become more waste-conscious, it‘s worth considering how we can optimize pickle prep for both taste and sustainability. Some ideas:
- Investing in predictive analytics to better forecast demand and reduce over-slicing
- Exploring ways to repurpose or donate unused pickle slices at the end of each day
- Offering whole pickles as an alternative to pre-sliced for customers who want the absolute freshest flavor and don‘t mind a little DIY action
It‘s a dill-emma with no easy answers. But I believe the first step is for pickle lovers to stay informed on the full lifecycle of their favorite sandwich sidekick—from seed to sandwich to scraps.
The Bottom Brine
So there you have it, folks: the down and dirty on Subway‘s dill pickles. We‘ve covered everything from the power of pickle psychology to the pitfalls of prepping pickles in bulk.
Whether you‘re a casual pickle supporter or a ride-or-die member of #TeamPickle, you can feel good knowing that Subway has put real thought and care into optimizing your pickle experience. From sourcing quality whole cukes to slicing them fresh daily to letting you pile ‘em high at no extra cost, they‘re not just going through the motions.
Those humble dill chips are a key piece of Subway‘s winning sandwich formula, and they‘ve earned their place as an MVP of the toppings bar. So the next time you‘re at Subway, don‘t be shy—show those briny boys some love. Your sandwich (and your taste buds) will thank you.
