Who Da Best Pickles--Mt. Olive Pickles

Well, Dad definitely thought so, but he was just a bit prejudiced about the whole thing.

That article about the Mississippi pickles yesterday got me to thinking about my dad and his FAVORITE pickles, those from his hometown of Mt. Olive, NC. Those were pretty-much the only pickles we were allowed to eat while growing up.

He had a long-standing "feud" with my older cousin Graham as to whether Faison Pickles, located about 15 miles away, or Mt. Olive had the best. Dad would say that he knew a Mt. Olive pickle when he tasted one. Then Graham and Dad would have a pickle taste, where they compared the pickles from the two companies. Of course, they wouldn't know whose pickle was whose. I don't remember who won, perhaps a family member or relative can fill us in? Dean Foods has since bought Faison Pickles, but Mt. Olive Pickles remains and today is the LARGEST independent pickle company in the US.

Every trip back to NC would involve taking several jars back to Chicagoland as you couldn't get them here at the time. Airport security would look strangely at me. However, a few years back, I was looking at a flyer for Jewel, a major area grocery store, and was shocked to see them offering Mt. Olive Pickles. You can now get them at most of the grocery stores in our area.

Mom has since bought 300 shares of stock in the company, which are only offered privately. So now, not only is our family a big fan of the pickle, but part owner in a small way.


A BIT OF INFORMATION ABOUT MT. OLIVE PICKLE COMPANY

It's 110 acre, 675,000 square-foot facility is still located in Mt. Olive, NC, and at the corner of Cucumber and Vine streets. (I kind of like that.)It started back in 1926 with a 3,600 square foot facility and $19,500 in capital. Like I said before, it is the largest independent pickle company in the US. Over 90 million jars of pickles, relishes, and peppers are sold annually.

You can find their products all along the eastern seaboard from Maine to Florida, in the Midwest, and in Texas, Colorado, and California. It is the number 1 pickle brand in the southeast.

They can store over 40 million pounds of pickles at a time and have 500 year-round employees and 800 at the busiest part of the year during the summer.

Of course, the company was named for the town where Dad was born. In April, Mt. Olive has the NC Pickle Festival and New Year's Eve they have the Pickle Drop at 7 PM, which is midnight in Greenwich.

Wonderin' if Graham has Come Over to the Other Side? --RoadDog