They Make Vintage Favorite Pickles

They Make Vintage Favorite Pickles FARM HOME Food Sechler’s Pickles has been a northeast Indiana favorite since 1921 The pickling processor sells nostalgic flavors like Candied Sweet Orange Strip Pickles which are 5-in pickled cucumber slices twice sweetened with sugar and orange flavoring Today Sechler’s Pickles sells 54 distinct products ranging from pickles and peppers to relishes and salsas The brand’s original recipe Genuine Dills is still on the shelves “Our Candied Sweet Mixed Pickle is our most popular item ” says Matt Troyer company President “It contains candied pickles sweet cauliflower pearl onions and red bell peppers We sell it in 16-oz 32-oz 1/2-gal and gallon jars ” Recently the business has responded to evolving customer tastes with spicier options like Sweet Heat Mixed Pickles and Jalapeno Sweet Relish Prices start at $3 80 per pint in the St Joe Showroom but can vary by location Founder Ralph Sechler began the business in 1922 when he leased two pickle-receiving stations for farmers to bring cucumbers There Sechler would grade and size the cucumbers by diameter before curing them in salt brine The pickles would then travel by train to the D M Sears Company in Fort Wayne for processing After the Great Depression bankrupted the Sears processing plant Sechler and his wife began processing the pickles in their farmhouse kitchen still standing today as the company office later converting their barn into a factory In 1948 Ralph’s son joined the business and the family officially established their pickles as the Sechler brand Much of Sechler’s Pickles’ business remains the same today 80 years later “While new processes and procedures are introduced we’ve resisted change that might in any way detract from the quality of our pickles ” says Troyer The cucumbers themselves are grown mostly in Michigan Sechler’s preserves them by fresh-packing directly from the field or by a preservation method known as brining This requires the cucumbers to soak outdoors in oak tanks where they ferment in water salt and calcium chloride This usually takes 3 to 6 mos After brining the pickles are removed from the tanks and used as needed for orders Sechler’s products are found throughout Midwest retail stores and online at the company website Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Sechler’s Pickles 5686 SR 1 St Joe Ind 46785 ph 260-337-5461; showroom@sechlerspickles com; www sechlerspickles com

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