Author: Karl Galloway
Image: Pickle industry in Mount Olive, NC, June 1947. From the Department of Conservation and Development, Travel Information Division Photograph Collection, State Archives of North Carolina.
Crunchy, tangy, delectable. It’s hard to resist a good pickle. And chances are, you’ve spied a famous homegrown NC variety at the supermarket. Mount Olive, North Carolina is famous for its version of the preserved snack.
In the early 1920s, Lebanese immigrant Shirkrey Baddour bought cucumbers from local farmers during a cucumber surplus. He intended to brine them and sell them to other pickle firms, but could not find a buyer. Together with friend and pickle plant worker George Moore, he instead decided to pack and sell his own pickles. By 1925 they were packing more than 6,000 cases of pickles a year. By 1926 the Mount Olive Pickle Company was officially founded. Today, the town celebrates its heritage with an annual pickle festival.
While attending in-person festivals may be difficult for the foreseeable future, you can still celebrate the art of pickling. Remember, it’s a process that you can apply to a huge variety of products! Get inspired by these sweet pickled figs (above), a recipe from Lillian Dodd. Born in Raleigh, N.C. in 1884 to James Dodd and Sylvia Catherine Howell, Lillian Dodd was a graduate of Saint Mary’s School and studied domestic science at the University of Tennessee. Attributed to her, these recipes may have been written by her mother, or even her grandmother, Nancy J. Brewer Howell. Celebrate North Carolina’s culinary history and give it a go!