I tried the TikTok pickle challenge – and here’s how it went

University can be challenging at times, and I often ponder how to really unwind after a stressful day. I didn’t think that my housemate and I would spend a random Saturday evening eating an extremely large garlicky pickle, and her filming the whole thing for TikTok.

You know the usual debacle, you’re all sat at home on the settee and you want sweets (something in Sunderland that we call ‘ket’, which was confusing when I got to university). Right, let’s grab the car keys and go to the shops. Or walk if at an appropriate distance.

Suddenly Tegwyn has a revelation in the car: “let’s try the TikTok pickle challenge!”

I’m not particularly keen on the idea as I’ve seen other people attempt this with some… interesting outcomes. However, I do like pickles and I didn’t think that a larger one could do much harm, oh boy was I wrong.

I’m sat patiently in the car as she goes into the shop, she rings me: “Do you want the garlic one or the spicy one?”

“Definitely the garlic one” – my tolerance for spice is not my greatest asset.

Looking through the clear strip of the packet you’d think you were looking at a sample of water from the River Thames. In fact, I think I referred to it as “dirty dishwater” in our TikTok creation which now has nearly 900 views.

That “dirty dishwater” sent our video into complete chaos, as Tegwyn insisted, we both drank some of the juice the pickle came in. I had already begun to gag at the first smell of it, so you can imagine how well it went down when I tasted it. Deceived by Tegwyn’s fondness for the juice, I took a sip of the extremely thick, garlicky liquid the pickle is preserved in.

To say I don’t think I’ve ever had something as salty in my mouth would not be an understatement, and I used to regularly drink salt water at swim training. I could not keep the pickle juice in my mouth.

Now we must try the pickle itself, which is not only a challenge for the nose but also for the teeth. I watch in dismay as Tegwyn attempts to get her gnashers through the thick skin of the pickle, which on video resembles things it shouldn’t. Now is probably a good time to tell you that the video did get taken down temporarily as it broke community guidelines. If you watch me eating the pickle, you’ll understand why.

The taste of the pickle itself was absolutely disgusting. I cannot comprehend why people would eat these unless they were attempting to go viral on TikTok. If you want to see me physically struggle through the phallic-shaped garlic monstrosity, then please go watch the TikTok itself, but I’m going to warn you, it ends with me spitting it out into our kitchen bin and muttering that “is f***ing disgusting.”

Next, lets down a bottle of Sprite and try not to burp.

Watch our challenge here!