385. Pickle Juice

53:4 If one pickles vegetables like cucumbers, cabbage, etc., the bracha on the liquid in which they were pickled is shehakol. Even though the liquid is infused with the taste of the vegetables, the purpose of pickling is not to flavor the liquid; that’s just a side effect. However, if one ate the vegetable and recited ho’adomah, and he then wishes to drink the liquid, there is a doubt as to whether or not he should recite shehakol or if the ho’adomah covered the liquid as well. In such a case of doubt, we do not recite the additional bracha.

53:5 Similarly, the bracha recited over fruits and vegetables that are cooked in a liquid that has its own taste, like vinegar, borscht or milk, is shehakol. If one ate the produce first, there is a doubt as to whether or not the liquid was covered by the bracha on the food.