Let’s talk pickles

 

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

If you read your grocery store or discount store pickle labels, you’ll often find one or more of these ingredients.  They are an inexpensive way to produce pickles that have the color of traditional pickles or may taste like ‘dill pickles’ even though they contain no dill.  Is this bad?   If you’re not allergic/sensitive to these ingredients, they’re probably okay (except where they may contribute to tissue damage, cancer, etc).  But, really, why risk it?  To save a buck?  What is your health or your child’s health worth?

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.