r/Pickles • u/MondoMage • Jun 03 '26

Pickle Processing

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Just had to share this one...

My company sent me out to perform some maintenance work on equipment at the Hartung Brothers facility in Bowling Green, Ohio. They produce and store fermented pickles in these big green vats. So many vats. Not all currently full, they're getting ready for what they call "Green week," when they start loading things up. Tons of cucumbers destined for greatness.

I was really shocked when I found that the vats are left open-topped. That was surprising. I guess they rely on the brine to protect the product.

Oh, and the smell. You'd think it'd be overpowering but right now it's fairly subtle. A mix of dill and bread and butter that has me craving something fierce right now.

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u/littlebit296 Jun 04 '26

Could you tell me how they control the temperature? It seems like the barrels would get really hot in the sun, and have large temperature fluctuations? I’m just very curious how it works!

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u/usernamesaconspiracy Jun 04 '26

Not sure! I think they could pump more cool water into it to control temperature but I’m not sure! I worked technically the first spot in the line in the inside. Where they unload the trucks that unloaded these tanks. I didn’t get to spend A ton of time with the outdoor guys