Malossols are the large, sweet and sour gherkins typical of Slavic cuisine, which can be enjoyed as an aperitif, or diced into many dishes, including la salade Olivier, or sliced on blinis.
They are very easy to find in Europe, in any Delikatessen or grocery shop. I had rarely seen them in Morocco, like a back order that ended up on a shelf, or in franchises of French brands that had closed too quickly.
So I resigned myself to make them myself, when I could, because the gherkin season is short in Morocco, and gherkins that are the right size are often reserved for the industrial channels.
Today, I saw this on the shelves of my Marjane.
Sweet and sour gherkins, about the right size for malossols.
Nutrition facts and origin
It is made in Agadir by Copagro, under the brand name Leana, with local products, and the product contains (officially) only two additives, citric acid (E330) and sodium disulfite (E223). These two additives are primarily preservatives and stabilisers and, of course, do not appear in the original recipe. The package is 200g "drained net weight" and contains about ten gherkins.
The nutritional values given by the manufacturer are different on the label and on the website:
| For 100 grammes | On the label | On the web |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 90 kcal | 26,68 kcal |
| Fats | 2,4 g | 0,30 g |
| Carbohydrates | 12 g | 4,5 g |
| Protein | 2,9 g | 1,2 g |
| Salt | Not listes | 1,4 g |
I find it a bit difficult to understand the difference, it's not a change of scale because it's not proportional. But one can say that "if" the label is right, the amount of salt per 100 grams must be about 2 to 3 grams, and that's huge: the recommended consumption per adult is 5 grams/day!
That said, these values are equivalent to those of other products. It's "just" that industrial products are always much more loaded with salt and sugar than home-made ones.
The taste of Leana pickles
Compared to a traditional malossol, I find it more acidic, the citric acid must have something to do with it. The marinade of the malossols contains herbs, small onions, which have not been used here. The product is "for hamburgers".
Léana started out making vacuum-packed and pre-packed products for professionals, so this pack of pickles was probably intended for them.
Nevertheless, the taste is good and the pickle has retained a certain crunch. I won't eat it "like that", as I do with malossols, but diced or thinly sliced in a salad, it is perfect.
The price
At 11.95 dirhams a packet, the price per kilo is 59.75 dirhams (about 5.70 €). This is more expensive than a jar of malossols in Europe (and much cheaper than the only Moroccan website I found, in Marrakesh, which sells its jar at almost 250 dirhams/kilo).
But 11.95 dirhams is also almost the price per kilo of the "cornichon" on the Moroccan market… so in season, I will continue to make my own malossols!
