Imagine how thrilled the delicate-tasting cucumber must have been when one day it became a pickle. It’s nearly impossible to say when that first was. According to PBS, pickles are mentioned in the bible, in Shakespeare’s writing, and may have possibly been a beauty secret of Cleopatra. And you thought they were just a deli sandwich treat. The pickle came to America in the early 1800s when European immigrants brought them along. They have long been loved and still are today. The USDA says that Americans eat about 9 pounds of the seasoned little cucumbers, per person every year. There are many types of pickles but dill ranks number one in America (via Calendar-Canada). There are many pickle brands to choose from today, and one, in particular, has stood the test of time. Kaiser Pickles writes that Kaiser pickles began with a father and son, the American dream, and plenty of hard work. After 100 years, Ohio’s best-loved pickle company is still going strong.
Kaiser Pickle History
In 1920, Harry T. Kaiser Sr. had a food stand that he moved from city to city in Ohio, where he sold the now-famous Kaiser pickles. After much success, Harry turned his food stand business into a full-fledged food distributor pickle company in 1930 and began distributing pickles, kraut, and relishes. Eventually, his son, Harry T. Kaiser Jr. would join him after serving in the Army and take over the manufacturing business in 1967. The company continued to grow and family members were added and helpful in making changes and carrying on the Kaiser tradition as the years rolled on. It was in 1990 that Kaiser pickles opened their first pickle processing facility, per Kaiser Pickles.
After four generations of Kaiser families, today you can find Kaiser pickles on grocery store shelves, and you can also order them online. They have their classic dill pickles, hot dills, kosher, and sour pickles. What keeps Kaiser going and their pickles so popular is their dedication to the craft and their passion for quality control. Kim Kaiser-Speed tells Food Chain Magazine, “Our quality control is updated continuously, and it is not something we put in place and walk away from.”
That quality control is working. Rooted in Ohio says that Kaiser produces a whopping 90 million pounds of pickle every year and are considered one of Ohio’s most iconic foods.
