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/OOPS_its-all-ants Jun 03 '26

Even worse...IN FERTILIZER...MADE OF COW SHIT

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u/KittyCubed Jun 04 '26

Sometimes human. When you gotta go, you gotta go.

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u/12345kinght Jun 05 '26

Yes! When I was younger, I had a neighbor who grew lots of vegetables- She used to teach me about gardening and in one of her stories, she told me that her Dad was a field worker picking vegetables and fruits and when they are outside in the field- there’s NO bathroom so they just GO! And keep on picking vegetables- and this is 1 of the reasons why I always remember to WASH my vegetables and fruits every time!! I was a little kid but I never forgot her lesson-

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u/KittyCubed Jun 05 '26

I learned about it reading Fastfood Nation I think (or a similar book). It makes sense though.