Aye seems that is correct. Today I learned.

I was under following impression:

> No, pickling is not fermentation. Pickling use vinegar and heat to kill microorganisms. Fermentation, on the other hand, let the natural bacteria create lactic acid that will keep the bad microorganisms at bay, while improving the nutritional quality of the vegetables.

(https://revolutionfermentation.com/en/blogs/fermented-vegetables/differences-fermentation-pickling/#:~:text=No%2C%20pickling%20is%20not%20fermentation,nutritional%20quality%20of%20the%20vegetables.)

However found somwhere else following:

> Sauerkraut is a pickle! The naturally high water content in cabbage, mixed with salt, makes a brine, which therefore makes sauerkraut and kimchi a pickle as well as a fermented food.

So today I learned. Thanks for correcting me!

Exactly this, it is slang to call something by its shorter name because vast majority knows what is referred to. If you deviate from the norm then you have to specify the exact produce, goat milk for example.

Pickled red onions are awesome!

> Pickled herring is basically the only other thing I can think of

Check out: pickled tomatoes, pickled peppers, pickled red onion (this one is crazy simple to make so you have always in fridge to use for burgers, condiments to other meats and foods).

Sauerkraut is not pickled, sauerkraut is fermented. Pickles = to marinate in vinegar.

Sauerkraut is indeed a pickle. TIL.

I think that is due to differentiate between what kind of pickling ingredients/methods have been used. To pickle something refers to marinating something in vinegar.

> One reason pickling cucumbers was so popular

Another reason is that they are very tasty! Win win, longer shelf life and variety of flavors depending the pickling ingredients used!

> ELI5 Why are pickles not just called pickled cucumbers?

A: They are.

Daaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyymn