Pickle Business

The story behind my pickle addiction –

When I was a kid I didn’t really like pickles. The weird sour and savory taste confused me and made me dislike them. It wasn’t until I grew up and expanded my taste palate that I started to enjoy eating pickles on their own and  alongside other food items. My all-time favorite way to eat pickles is in a style called fried pickles. I usually get this when I go out to get wings with friends and I order them as a side alongside ranch and I dip them in the ranch and it gives me such pleasure from eating this combined combo.While I love pickles I didn’t know much about them so I decided to look more into the process of how pickles end up at stores.

The crazy history of pickles and the impact they have had on the world –

The juicy history of pickles has had such a large impact on the world and people around the world that some have even given pickles credit to their success in their sports career. For example, after the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Dallas Cowboys in a very hot and not suitable temperature they credited pickles for their success in the game as it helped prevent cramps during the game. There’s scientific research that pickles and more specifically pickle juice helps relief cramps since it sets off a reaction in your nervous system that allows for the cramp to be relieved. It is believed that pickles have been around for thousands of years dating back as far as 2030 BC and were first made in the Tigris valley in India. Pickles have been used all throughout history during the ancient Egypt  times, the Roman Empire, and during ancient Greece  and were carried in the boats that were first coming from Europe to the Americas as it was a food item that would take long to perish. During one of Christopher Columbus voyages to try to discover the Americas it is said that he had barrels of pickled vegetables in order to have food that would last a long time and not go bad on them. This decision of taking pickles and pickled vegetables might’ve been a big reason as to why he was able to discover America as it is believed that the sailors that were on the boats would eat the pickles in order to save themselves from contracting scurvy. There is a belief that in order to finish their voyage to the Americas that Christopher Columbus decided to make a stop on the islands of Haiti in order to grow more pickles to suffice for the rest of the trip they still had to do. The juicy four-thousand- year history of pickles seems to also have started with the  people in Mesopotamia soaking the cucumbers in an acidic brine in order to preserve them for a much longer time. During World War II, the US started to ration pickles since they were giving the pickles to the armed forces. The US gave around forty percent of the nation’s pickles to the armed forces.

The process of making a juicy and sour pickle –

Cucumbers are mainly grown in two forms either in vining or bushes. The cucumbers that are grown in the USA are mainly grown in Florida and Georgia with well drained soil that is rich in organic materials. The process of making pickles all starts at the part of harvesting cucumbers. The cucumbers are first harvested from a big farm or a small farm it all depends on the size of the company that is creating the pickles they usually buy cucumbers off of other farmers or run their own farm in order to supply all the cucumbers they need in order to keep up with the demand of the pickles that they need to make. They usually transport the cucumbers for long distances with refrigerated trucks in order to keep the cucumbers fresh for when they get to the factory. The cucumbers are then taken to a factory where most of the process if controlled and ran by automated machines where the human workers don’t really have much manual work to do. The pickles are put in this brine that is mainly made up of mainly five materials and they are usually the acids, flavorings, colorants, preservatives, and stabilizers. Another more simple version of pickle brine is made up mainly vinegar, salt, and water instead of having all the other extra things that bigger companies add to their brine. The pickling process can take up to 42 days depending on the manufacturers recipes and their process.

Are cucumbers and the process of making pickles sustainable? – 

The pickle production process can be relatively sustainable as there are no known side effects to the environment such as the soil, land, air, or the water. It all depends on the farm that the pickles are grown and if the people that run the farm use pesticides or GMOs. A way you can help with making pickle farming more sustainable is by making sure to buy organic items from stores. Just like most of all other crops that are farmed and collected in a large amount there will always be farms that are abusing the workers and until there are more strict rules placed such as more labor laws to make the workers not be able to be overworked and underpaid. The workers go trough a lot of issues a lot of times such as sexual assault and harassment, wage theft, and safety issues and much more that they are put trough on a daily basis.

Home Made Pickle Recipe made simple –

You can easily make your own pickles at home with a simple brine and patience by:

1 – Slicing the cucumbers as you desire

2 – Whisk together a basic brine made up of water, vinegar, and seasonings of your choice

3 – Pack the cucumbers into a jar, add some dill and garlic, and pour the brine all over it

4 – Refrigerate until the pickles taste sufficiently “Pickled!”

INGREDIENTS FOR PICKLES –

• 1 Medium-to-large cucumbers or 2 small cucumbers (ideally 12 ounces total)
• 1/2 cup of water, at room temperature or cooler
• 1/2 cup of rice vinegar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of maple syrup or sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of fine sea salt
• 1/4 tablespoons of red pepper flakes (optional, for heat)
• 20 twists of freshly ground black pepper
• 2 leafy springs of fresh dill, roughly chopped (about 1/4 cup)
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
• 1 bay leaf
  

REFERENCES AND CITATIONS – 

“’a Lot of Abuse for Little Pay’: How US Farming Profits from Exploitation and Brutality.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 25 Dec. 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/dec/25/us-farms-made-200m-human-smuggling-labor-trafficking-operation#:~:text=Workers%20in%20America’s%20agricultural%20fields,and%20exposure%20to%20hazardous%20chemicals.

Johnson, Amy. “Fried Pickles Recipe.” She Wears Many Hats, 17 Dec. 2021, https://shewearsmanyhats.com/fried-pickles-recipe/.

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– JAVIER TORRES