Sweet or Spicy: Pick your Pickle flavor

HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — One business took a traditional Valley snack and turned it into a multitude of sweet and spicy flavors.

The pickle is a Valley staple, known for its sour and tangy flavor, which pairs well with popcorn, hot Cheetos, and raspas, among other snacks.

Sergio Reyna, owner of Sweetblazzin Pickles, took a pickling recipe that was passed down to him and began experimenting with different spices and flavor combinations.

Reyna told ValleyCentral that he takes his craft for his business very seriously. He has gone through different mandolins and different pickling flavors to get the perfect crunch and flavor for his products.

"I always put myself in the customer's shoes and ask myself 'Is this the crunch that I want or do I want something crunchier?'" Reyna said.

He added that when creating his flavors, he would listen to his customers; while some customers asked for a spicer product, others asked for sweeter flavors.

"If a customer asks, 'Do you have anything spicer?' I respond, 'Give me a week and let me see what I can do," Reyna explains.

With customer feedback, Reyna has created an array of flavors that include different spice levels, Kool-aid pickles, specialty flavors, Jolly Rancher pickles and a sugar-free option.

The spicy pickles bring different heat levels from Regular, Habanero, Habanero times two, Triple heat, Bunker Buster and Scorpion Blood.

He said he is grateful to his customers for always encouraging him to try something different.

These pickles are not just for snacking but also can be added to different foods and sandwiches for an extra kick and bold flavor.

Reyna suggests the Habanero blend pickle that can be perfectly paired with a pulled pork or brisket sandwich for an extra kick.

However, many of his customers have told Reyna they use the leftover pickle juice from flavors such as the Habanero to brine their meats for a barbecue.

"[Customers] swear up an down that [the SweetBlazin pickle juice] is the best for marining because of its spicyness and acidity of the vinegar," he explained.

If you are not a fan of spicy, the sweeter pickles may be an option for you. Reyna said the Kool-Aid pickles are best for a pickledilly raspa as it has a sweet and sour taste that pairs perfectly with chamoy and tajin.

Thanks to his success, Reyna was invited to the March 'In a Pickle Festival' in New Braunfels, where he had to prepare a stock of 1,000 pickle jars.

"I've never made so many jars as I'm making now ... I felt the pressure when they told me they wanted us to make 1,000 jars," he added.

Those interested in contacting Reyna can visit his Facebook page Sweetblazzin Pickles to submit their order.