I’ve you’ve ever experienced a home-pickled cucumber (or pepper, bean, or beet) from someone who has put a little thought into the project, you know it’s a science that mass-production just can’t replicate. The handcrafted, slightly-idiosyncratic touch of the home-pickler will offer you flavor combinations and an overall quality of freshness that cannot be matched. Of course, the right combination of creativity and a sense for what makes a good-old-fashioned pickle is key. Bred from a youth spent pickling, Rick’s Picks walks a fine line between respecting tradition and pushing its boundaries. Sliced dill pickles with garlic (“Slices of Life”) and zesty pickled asparagus (“Whup Asp”) share space on Rick’s roster with green beans in a soy-wasabi brine (“Windy City Wasabeans”) and pickled beats in a rosemary-scented brine (“Phat Beets”). Recipes incorporate vegetables and herbs produced local to the brand’s New York City home, where Rick’s Picks has set up shop since 1997.
The recipient of a variety of pickling awards, including the Rosendale International Pickle Festival’s “Best in Show” honor in 2001 and 2002, Rick’s Picks has never strayed from its original goal of handcrafted, personalized pickling. In fact, you can stop by Rick’s Picks Lower East Side headquarters any day of the week and say hello to Rick himself.