Guiteau Monday Bonus -- new fautisanal pickles from Vlasic!

Some of you may guess that the Cod has a dog in the artisanal pickle fight. That may or may not have led  to the tweet recaptured at right.

This reflection was inspired by the product pictured at left,  from the new "Farmer's Garden by Vlasic" collection. That's our crib in the background -- I did buy a jar out of curiosity. They are not bad -- the "zesty garlic halves" taste like regular Vlasics, but a bit zestier. Not mad at that. But the packaging and the whole project are, you know, suspect: 

Seventy years ago, pickling pioneer Joseph Vlasic created special pickle recipes using fresh, locally grown cucumbers and hand-picked herbs and spices. Today, our new Farmer's Garden™ by Vlasic® celebrates these authentic farm recipes so that you too can taste the delicious freshness of these creations.

Farmer's Garden™ by Vlasic® are made with the finest U.S.-grown cucumbers harvested at the peak of freshness, married with specially selected natural ingredients and hand-packed and chilled within days to bring you the perfect premium pickle.

Delivered from the farm to your local grocer's produce section, Farmer's Garden™ by Vlasic® artisanal-quality pickles is for anyone who enjoys honest ingredients and bold fresh taste.

So, they used to make good pickles, then got into the lucrative business of making lots of not as good pickles, and now are going back to their roots of making good pickles like it was a Dylan solo acoustic tour or something? A Big Food player like Vlasic trying to make a move in an artisanal market seems like a thing that should have a name, in the way that pushing an agenda via a fake grassroots group is called "astroturfing." I'll go with "faustisanal" until someone comes up with something better.  

But! Clicking around the site in an effort to get a handle on what, exactly, the deal with Farmer's Garden (TM) is, came across their guest bloggers, a couple named Todd Porter and Diane Cu. So far, so good. Except their blog is called "White on Rice Couple." Because Todd is white, and Diane is Asian! Get it? It's after five, but sometimes, Guiteau Monday works overtime. 

Comments

[Marco]

Fuck Vlasic! I am your brother's consumer.

[Marco]

Excuse the incoherent comment. Allergy-sinus tsuris. What I meant to type is that I am dedicated Ricks Picks fan and Vlasic can't come close those Hotties.

[Matt S.]

Almost as good as Tostitos® Artisan® Recipes:
http://www.fritolay.com/our-snacks/tostitos-artisan-recipes-fire-roasted-chipotle.html

[Natalie Luffer Sztern]

Probably just as many years ago Montreal had its own homegrown pickle maker that alongside our bagels was famed. Mrs. Whyte's pickles was started oh so many years ago by Great Grandpa Whitenof and then continued into the generation I am of. Unfortunately the food scene changed and Mrs. Whyte's was bought out by 'not-so-jewish-ish' pickle and sour-kraut makers and well the rest is history. However, what also stood out in infamy was that every Halloween, the whole Jewish community knew that Simon (Whitenof/Mrs. Whyte's) would give out one pickle hygenically wrapped to every kid who rang his doorbell...his claim to fame still exists in the memories of some of our tortured kids...LOL

[belstaff chaquetas]

Nice, and thanks for sharing this info with us.Good Luck!

[Moncler Salg]

It's great to hear from you and see what you've been up to. In your blog I feel your enthusiasm for life. thank you.