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Home / Ferment Blog / Good Food Awards speech: “Pickles Are Not Obsolete!”

Posted January 20, 2012 by Dan

Good Food Awards speech: “Pickles Are Not Obsolete!”

Addie and I are just back from the Good Food Awards in San Francisco, where we were honored for the 2nd year in a row for our Organic Garlic Dill Pickles.  While our first experience at the Good Food Awards in 2011 was quite special, this time around we were fortunate enough to receive an additional honor:  Real Pickles was selected by our 10 fellow pickle winners from around the country to deliver the acceptance speech for the group!  (Thanks, picklers!)

At the ceremony, each pickle winner was called up to the stage and received a Good Food Awards medal from renowned chef and food activist Alice Waters.  And, then I delivered the speech:

Thanks very much. My partner Addie and I are thrilled to be back at the Good Food Awards for a 2nd time as part of what is again a fantastic pickle posse!

I think pickles are a really great fit with the Good Food Awards, with its focus on helping to bring good food back into the American diet, promoting both taste and social responsibility.  Pickle-makers in the United States have much to offer on both counts, and I would say the winners here tonight are clear illustrations of that.

Those engaged in the craft today are drawing on pickling traditions from around the world to produce tasty pickles, as three of tonight’s winners did – Farmhouse Culture, Spirit Creek Farm, and Firefly Kitchens – in creating a version of the Salvadoran classic, curtido.  And we are drawing on the American pickling tradition, as Cuisine En Locale did to produce their winning pickled peaches (which I’m very excited to try).

Some of us here (like Olykraut) are using the traditional fermentation process to make our pickles, while others (like Miss Jenny’s and Let’s Be Frank) are using the modern vinegar approach.  Both are great ways to preserve the wonderful flavors of organically-grown produce and indeed to enhance those flavors along the way.

Pickle-makers are also making major contributions in the realm of social responsibility.  Our special tool of course, our not-so-secret weapon, is our ability to take perishable fruits and vegetables and make them non-perishable, and yet still tasty and nutritious.

In an industrial food system – with monoculture farming and long-distance food transport (both made possible by cheap fossil fuels) – one might be tempted to wonder if pickles are obsolete.  I mean, why bother with making dill pickles for winter when we can just buy in cucumbers from Mexico, right?  Part of the answer, of course, is:  Who really could live without pickles?  (I know, I might be a little bit biased.)

But, as it turns out: pickles are not obsolete anyway.  Because, as more and more Americans are coming to realize, our industrial food system is broken.  It doesn’t work.  It’s causing or exacerbating a huge list of ecological and social ills, from climate change and soil erosion to human disease epidemics and the decline of our rural economies.  What we need instead is a regionally-based organic food system where everyone (not just the privileged few) has access to healthy food from small producers located (whenever possible) within their own region.

And in such a food system, pickles are an essential food:  one that can keep people eating nutritious fruits and vegetables from regional sources all year long, regardless of how cold the weather gets.

Our contribution to building a regional, organic food system is an important part of what we pickle-makers are being honored for tonight.  So many of the winning producers here have developed close relationships with their local farmers to source their ingredients, as we have done in Massachusetts at Real Pickles, Sour Puss Pickles has done in New York, and Emmy’s has done here in California; while others are growing ingredients themselves, like Ann’s Raspberry Farm.

And, thus, just as practitioners of each craft being honored here tonight are contributing to the task of making “good food” the norm in America, so too are those of the pickling craft.  And, I think I can safely speak for all of my fellow pickle winners when I express sincere gratitude to the organizers of the Good Food Awards for doing your part to help promote our work and achieve wider recognition for it.  So, thank you very much.

Tagged: fermented pickles, Good Food Awards, pickles, Real Pickles, REGIONAL, small business, SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

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Fermented foods make delicious, nutrient-rich snac Fermented foods make delicious, nutrient-rich snacks and bring a little vibrant color to these cold January days! Make a quick and easy treat by adding a healthy serving of your favorite Real Pickles ferment to avocado and your favorite toasted bread.
Garnish with sprouts, radish and sesame seeds like these beauties, or finish as you wish! #realpickles #packedwithamission #lactofermentation #avocadotoast #superbowlsnacks #organic #raw #pickles #kraut #recipeideas 

Photo by @clarebarboza
Bread by @riseabove_413
On the shortest and darkest day of the year, may y On the shortest and darkest day of the year, may you be cozy and warm with ferments aplenty, and may the light of the Winter Solstice shine on you! 

#wintersolstice #RealPickles #ferments #organic #kraut #sauerkraut #northeastgrown #fermentedandraw
Still looking for that perfect gift? How about som Still looking for that perfect gift?
How about something that supports regional organic farms, creates meaningful jobs in our community, and is super delicious?! Consider a few jars of Real Pickles ferments or a super cozy organic cotton tee! Check out the store locator on our website to find the Northeast store closest to you, or order a 4 jar sampler, some colorful merch, or a Real Pickles gift certificate on our webstore!
Link in profile. 

#RealPickles #PackedWithAMission
#FermentedAndRaw #organic #giftgiving #shoplocal #supportregionalfarms
It’s carrot day at Real Pickles and we’re havi It’s carrot day at Real Pickles and we’re having lots of fun processing these gorgeous, vibrant carrots from Brookford Farm! Such beauties! 
#organic #northeastgrown #carrots #ferments  @brookfordfarm
Looking for a new way to enjoy your favorite Real Looking for a new way to enjoy your favorite Real Pickles ferments? Check out this colorful, mouth watering post by @hawthorncleansebuds - 
and tag us with your recipe ideas! 

Posted @withrepost • 
Let the RAINBOW ROLLING begin 🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈💫😋👏

Check the goodness at last nights RR station: 

arugula, baked tofu, rice noodles with lemon and hemp seeds, sautéed lions mane/ cremini and caramelized onions, turmeric japanese sweet potatoes, cilantro, sesame seeds, avos, calendula flowers, lemon and chocolate mint. 

Fermented loves ginger carrots, red kraut and kimchi @realpickles 

Tahini lemon maple dressing 
Peanut soy honey allium dipping

#RealPickles #organic #fermentedandraw
Real Pickles is seeking a well-qualified individua Real Pickles is seeking a well-qualified individual to join our team as a Sales Representative. We are looking for someone with a strong interest in organic food, Real Pickles’ mission and a desire to explore worker-ownership in our co-op. See details on how to apply and full job description at realpickles.com/jobs - link in bio! 

#RealPickles #coopjobs #organic #sales #werehiring

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