Though any pickle can be used, Van Holten's, which has been around for more than a hundred years, is by far the most common brand found on shelves on the South Side. I reached out to the company to ask if officials there were aware that people pair their pickles with peppermint sticks, and they very much are. In fact, the company developed a peppermint-flavored pickle to appeal to fans of the combo, said Eric Girard, vice president of sales and marketing, though the project was ultimately abandoned. "Some of the feedback we got was that the actual act of combining the two items together was as much a part of the experience as the flavor itself," Girard said.