For many years, people pickled their vegetables during the
summer to make sure there were some kinds of vegetables to eat in the winter,
other than potatoes, onions, parsnips, carrots (which could be stored to last
most of the winter). Cucumbers, peppers,
peaches, and many other fruits and vegetables were only available during the
summer, so people preserved them for use in the winter. Pickling was one tasty way to do this.
Times have changed. Fruits
and vegetables are flown in from all over the world (lots of food miles) to be
available during the winter. But people
have grown to love the taste of pickles...cucumbers (dill, bread and butter,
sweet and hot), beets (pickled beets, spiced beets), mixed vegetables
(jardinière, muffaletta, hot pickle mix), peppers (relish, mixed veggie
pickles), even watermelon rinds!
But not all pickles are created the same way. We use
wholesome ingredients in our pickles.
Commercial pickles are cheaper.
Why? Remember the adage---‘you
get what you pay for’….well, that explains a lot of the difference.
Most commercial pickles are made with artificial
ingredients, such as artificial preservatives, colors and flavors . For example, many commercial dill pickles
contain no dill….only artificial ‘dill’ flavor (sort of like frozen ‘blueberry’
pancakes...they contain ‘blueberry flavored bits’—no actual fruit). Here’s a list of some common commercial
pickle additives:
(information from LabelWatch)
Oleoresin
(flavoring/coloring agent) derived from seeds, roots, leaves, or fruit
using solvents such as hexane, acetone, ethanol/methanol, which are removed
prior to use.
Sodium Benzoate (preservative) used to prevent bacteria and
fungus in pickles. It is safe for most
people, though they can cause hives, asthma, or allergic reactions in
sensitive individuals. They also negatively
affect children with ADHD.
Cautionary
Ingredient - This ingredient appears to be problematic.
Sodium Bisulfite (preservative, bleach) prevents discoloration
of fruit and frozen potatoes. It can
cause severe reactions for asthmatics.
In the 1980s, 12 deaths were caused by this ingredients in sensitive indivduals
as well as less severe reactions in others.
Much ‘fast food’ lettuce is bagged lettuce preserved with sulfites to
make it appear ‘fresh’. The FDA has
banned the most dangerous uses of sulfites, but this ingredient still appears
in many products.
Cautionary
Ingredient - This ingredient appears to be problematic
Our dill pickles contain dill...fresh dill or dill
seeds. We only use American grown garlic
(the stuff from China that isn’t properly cured is safe to eat, but it turns
neon blue/green when pickled….ewwwww!). I
noticed last week there was a recall of foreign green beans. But, the green beans had been sold between
last May and last July….it took that long to get the word about the
problem….hmmm, anyone have any of last May’s green beans sitting around? Many big box and discount store foods are
from other countries (there is no ‘country of origin labeling requirement on
many products)…they’re cheap because they are sourced from the ‘low cost
producer’ anywhere in the world—usually without regard to labor standards, food
safety standards, etc….because ‘cheap’ is what people want and where the
profits are.
We use high quality vinegar, cane sugar (beet sugar is
genetically modified), local veggies, and real herbs and spices, not artificial
flavors. We think you can taste the
difference.
So, that’s our pickle lesson for the day.