What Is Piccalilli? A Guide to Britain's Best-Loved Pickle

Piccalilli is a bright yellow British pickle made from chopped vegetables, usually cauliflower, onions and green beans, cured in a sharp vinegar brine and coloured with turmeric and mustard. It sits in a category of its own, somewhere between a pickle and a chutney: crunchier and sharper than a slow-cooked chutney, but more textured and spiced than a simple jar of pickled onions. If you have ever wondered what to eat it with, the short answer is almost anything from a cheeseboard, from cold meats and pork pies to a proper ploughman's lunch.

What is piccalilli made from?

Traditional piccalilli is built from a mix of chopped vegetables, most commonly cauliflower florets, onions or shallots, and small pickling cucumbers or gherkins or green beans. Some recipes add French beans, marrow or courgette for extra bulk and colour. The vegetables are salted or brined first to draw out moisture and keep their crunch, then combined with a vinegar-based sauce lightly thickened with flour or mustard powder, sweetened with a little sugar, and spiced with turmeric, which gives the jar its unmistakable yellow colour, along with mustard seed and ginger. The result is a chunky, tangy relish where the vegetables keep their bite rather than dissolving into a paste.

Dauntsey's own Classic Piccalilli is built on this same traditional base, made by hand in small batches rather than produced at scale, so the vegetables keep their crunch and the colour stays true.

Why is piccalilli yellow?

The colour comes almost entirely from turmeric, the same spice that gives curry powder its warm gold tone. Turmeric contains a natural pigment called curcumin, which dissolves readily into the vinegar-based brine and stains every piece of vegetable a deep, sunny yellow as it pickles. Mustard, usually added as seeds or powder, deepens the colour slightly and adds its own sharp, warm flavour alongside the turmeric. The result is a jar that looks nothing like any other pickle on the shelf, which is part of why piccalilli is so easy to spot and so hard to mistake for anything else.

Where does piccalilli come from? A short history

Contrary to a popular guess, piccalilli has nothing to do with London's Piccadilly. Food historians trace the dish back to the mid-18th century, when Britain's expanding trade with India introduced cooks at home to spiced, vinegar-pickled vegetables. English cooks adapted the idea using produce they could grow at home. One of the earliest printed versions appears in Hannah Glasse's 1758 cookery book under the name Paco-Lilla, or India Pickle, and Elizabeth Raffald published a similar recipe in 1769 under the name Piccalillo. By the 19th century, piccalilli had moved from the kitchen table to the shop shelf, sold commercially by makers such as Crosse & Blackwell, and it has stayed a fixture of British larders ever since.

What does piccalilli taste like?

The first thing you notice is the vinegar: sharp and clean, tempered by a little sugar rather than masked by it. Underneath that sits a warm, earthy note from the turmeric and mustard, with a gentle background heat from ginger that builds rather than overwhelms. Because the vegetables are pickled quickly rather than cooked down for hours, they keep their crunch, so every spoonful has real texture alongside the flavour. It is a bright, punchy condiment rather than a sweet one, which is exactly why it works so well alongside rich or fatty foods.

Is piccalilli the same as chutney?

Not quite, and knowing the difference makes it easier to choose between them. Piccalilli is a pickle: vegetables are cured briefly in a sharp vinegar and mustard brine, so they stay chunky and keep their bite, and the flavour is tangy and spiced rather than sweet. Chutney is a slow-cooked preserve, usually built on fruit or a mix of fruit and vegetable, simmered with vinegar and sugar until it softens into something thick and jam-like, with a sweeter, mellower flavour.

The short version is that piccalilli is a pickle and chutney is a cooked preserve, and Dauntsey's chutneys and pickles collection stocks both styles side by side, which is a good place to taste the difference for yourself.

Is piccalilli the same everywhere?

Not quite. In Britain, piccalilli means the cauliflower, onion and green bean pickle described above, coloured with turmeric and mustard. Cross the Atlantic and the name shifts to describe something closer to a relish, traditionally made from chopped green, unripe tomatoes rather than cauliflower, sometimes with added peppers and onion, and it is generally sweeter and less spiced than the British version. Both grew from the same idea, chopped vegetables preserved in vinegar, but they developed along different lines using whatever produce was locally abundant. If a recipe or product simply says piccalilli without further detail, it is worth checking which tradition it follows, since the two are genuinely different condiments despite sharing a name.

How do you eat piccalilli? Serving ideas

Piccalilli earns its place on the table because it cuts through rich, fatty and savoury foods rather than competing with them. Here are the pairings worth knowing:

• On a cheeseboard alongside a mature cheddar or other hard cheese, where the sharpness balances the richness.

• With cold meats, ham or a pork pie, a classic pub lunch pairing.

• As part of a traditional ploughman's lunch, with crusty bread, cheese and a spoonful on the side.

• Stirred into a ham or cheese sandwich for extra bite.

• Alongside fish and chips, a popular and slightly unexpected pairing.

• With Boxing Day leftovers, cold turkey or gammon.

• Spooned onto a Scotch egg, or served alongside a good pate.

How should you store piccalilli once it's open?

As with our other preserves, we recommend refrigerating piccalilli after opening, always using a clean dry spoon and replacing the lid immediately after use. Because piccalilli is a vinegar pickle rather than a high-sugar preserve, keeping it cold and using a clean spoon each time helps it hold onto its crunch and colour for longer, and keeps stray bacteria out of the jar.

Discover the Dauntsey Difference

Piccalilli is just one part of Dauntsey's savoury range. Explore the full chutneys and pickles collection for more traditional flavours, all handmade in small batches at The Old Rectory in Wiltshire by a multi-award-winning family business, using time-honoured methods rather than shortcuts.

Frequently asked questions

What is piccalilli made of?

Piccalilli is made from chopped vegetables, typically cauliflower, onions and small gherkins, cured in a vinegar-based sauce and spiced with mustard and turmeric, which gives it its characteristic yellow colour.

What is the difference between piccalilli and chutney?

Piccalilli is a pickle: vegetables are cured briefly in sharp vinegar and mustard so they keep their crunch. Chutney is a slow-cooked preserve, usually fruit-based, simmered with vinegar and sugar until thick and jam-like. Piccalilli is tangy and chunky, chutney is sweeter and softer.

What do you eat piccalilli with?

Piccalilli works well on a cheeseboard, with cold meats and pork pies, as part of a ploughman's lunch, in a ham or cheese sandwich, alongside fish and chips, or with Boxing Day leftovers.

Does piccalilli need to be refrigerated after opening?

Yes. Once opened, piccalilli should be kept in the fridge, with a clean dry spoon used each time and the lid replaced straight away, to protect its flavour, crunch and colour.

Is piccalilli spicy?

Piccalilli usually has a gentle warmth from mustard, turmeric and ginger rather than a strong chilli heat, though some recipes add extra spice. The overall effect is more tangy and warm than hot.

Why is piccalilli yellow?

The colour comes from turmeric, whose natural pigment stains the vinegar brine and every piece of vegetable a deep yellow as it pickles. Mustard adds a little extra depth to the colour and flavour alongside it.

Is British piccalilli the same as American piccalilli?

No. British piccalilli is a cauliflower, onion and green bean pickle coloured with turmeric and mustard. American piccalilli is closer to a relish, traditionally made from chopped green tomatoes, and tends to be sweeter and less spiced.