There’s a specialty product that’s expanding in some new and pretty surprising directions. When most of us think of pickles, we think of two kinds — dill and sweet.

Not long ago Paul visited a long-time pickle-making family in Indiana that’s come up with some amazing varieties of the crunchy cucumber and they may be heading to a store shelf near you.

Tucked away in the little town of St. Joe, Indiana, with its nearby Amish community and covered bridges, is one of America’s last family-owned pickle companies. Sechler’s Fine Pickles was founded in 1921 when Ralph Sechler launched a small pickling operation in the basement of this house. Today, Dave Sechler, Ralph’s grandson, finds himself in the position of pickle patriarch.

Paul asked Dave, "See pickles in your sleep?" Said Dave, "No. I’ve had some nightmares about this place but as a business owner that just comes with it."

Sechler’s makes all sorts of pickled products, but it’s best known for its uniquely flavored sweet, candied-style pickles. "One of the oldest is a raisin-flavored pickle, lemon-flavored, orange-flavored, apple cinnamon-flavored, then we do a lot of mixtures using jalapeno peppers and banana peppers. Cauliflower, onions, all kinds of stuff."

The process in this small but bustling pickle plant starts when cucumbers are placed in these wooden vats with salt brine. The fermentable sugars in the cucumbers allow them to be pickled and preserved. After the brine bath, the process continues when the pickles are "desalted" and sugar and other flavors are added. In case you’re wondering, alum and turmeric help give pickles their distinctive "crunch". All the pickles are sorted for imperfections, placed in jars, packed and shipped off to markets throughout the Midwest.

They come in many forms—as whole pickles, chunks, and relish. Available in grocery stores in a number of states, on-line, or in the gift shop that not only carries pickles but all sorts of pickle paraphernalia. Dave Sechler is proud as punch with his pickle business, but hopes that some day one of his kids will take over.

"We don’t grow our own cucumbers anymore," says Dave’s daughter Abby. "We get them all shipped in from Michigan and Ohio. It’s a lot easier that way."

The day we visited, daughter Abby was roped into the role of tour guide. Says Dad, "She’s nineteen years old and still trying to figure out what direction she’s going to head. She’s in a pickle!"

As Paul discovered, not every new pickle flavor is a hit. "We tried numerous times to come up with a chocolate-flavored pickle and I finally decided that there’s just some things you don’t do with chocolate," Dave said ruefully. "Pickles is one of them."

Despite this minor setback, Sechler’s continues to go strong.

"There’s only like two other family-owned pickle businesses left in the country and we’re the smallest of the three of us," Dave notes. "So the way we manage to hang onto our business is the uniqueness and quality of our product. That’s the only thing that keeps us around."

So, the next time you’re poking around the backroads of Indiana, pop into Sechler’s pickle plant. Take the tour and pick up a few tips about the pickling process. As visitor Sharon O’Keefe laughingly observed, "Young people probably think they grow on trees. Seriously!"

Addtional Info:

Contact information:
www.sechlerspickles.com