2016 Update: Delicious Concepts has gone out of business. The good new for those wanting low sodium pickles is that Healthy Heart Market now produces NSA dills and bread & butter pickles.
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I know, I know. I’ve been fixating on pickles for the last couple of months. It’s almost been an exercise in futility looking for truly low sodium, already canned pickles. But I think I’ve hit the jackpot. During one of my endless online searches, I came upon a site called Delicious Concepts. The company produces whole salt-free dill pickles and salt-free cornichon pickles. The jar for the larger dills looked almost exactly like the jar & label for Healthy Heart Market’s now discontinued salt-free pickles, so I wondered if Delicious Concepts had been the actual producer. I decided to order one jar each of the whole dills and the cornichons.
Receiving the pickles took a little longer than I expected, so I sent the company an email. Not only did I get an email response, but the head of the company personally called me to explain and apologize for the delay. Pretty good customer service.
But the really exciting news is that both pickles taste good and have a crunchy texture. My husband particularly liked the cornichons. In fact, the jar was emptied in just a few days. So I ordered ten more jars just last week. The cornichons are small and extremely crisp. They’d be perfect chopped up for tartar sauce, remoulade, Thousand Island salad dressing or any application where a tangy, spicy bite would be appreciated.
The bottom line for me is that my husband likes these pickles. It satisfies his cravings. And, because both pickles are completely salt free, I don’t have to fuss with cutting pieces to get the correct serving size. I’m very happy and hope the company continues to produce these pickles for a long, long time.
8 comments:
Yeah!! That's fabulous news :) I actually wasn't looking forward to pulling out the canning equipment, I think you've just saved me a TON of grief. Thanks! :) 10 jar reorder? wow. they must be spectacular.
Glad to hear you found your perfect pickles!
Johanna, my husband is the one that loves dill pickles. I've always favored bread & butter or sweet pickles. Honestly, I'm just not much of a pickle person, but he is. That's why it's so great to find a pickle product he can eat without worrying about portion size. These satisfy his pickle cravings, and for that, I'm eternally grateful to Delicious Concepts.
Jenny, I'm glad too. Now that I'm not fussing over pickles, I can concentrate on cooking.
Shambo, so glad to hear you like these! I just found out about them too and was curious to know more about them. Could you tell me whether they're flavored all naturally?? I was wondering whether they had a potassium-based salt substitute added or anything of the like. I contacted the owner but haven't had time to call and discuss.
Hope all is very well my friend! :)
Christy, here's the label information:
Ingredients: Fresh cucumbers, Water, Distilled vinegar, Sugar, Natural Calcium Chloride (maintains crunchiness),Garlic, Spices, Chili peppers, Mustard seeds, Natural flavors, Polysorbate 80 (emulsifier), Extractives of tumeric (natural color).
FYI, Calcium Chloride is used frequently by home preservers to keep pickles crisp during the canning process. The brand name is "Pickle Crisp," and it's made by Ball.
Polysorbate 80 is the only "strange" ingredient. Its inclusion does not worry me, but others might have differing opinions. Here's an article that describes it: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-polysorbate-80.htm
The pickle label also includes this info:
No artificial flavors,colors, or preservatives
No high fructose corn syrup
No salts of Benzoates and Sorbates
No Potassium Chloride
Hope this helps.
Yes, that helps immensely - thanks so much!!
Just found this blog the other day, I'm on a low (read NO) sodium diet leading up to a heart transplant. Finding salt free dill pickles is amazing as pickles were one of my favorite foods ever before the restrictions! Side note I saw some comments referring to the polysorbate-80. It is an ultra mild detergent that is considered non-ionic and is used as an emulsifier in foods for the pickles it probably emulsifies the capsaicin oil from the chili peppers and keeps it from floating to the top of the jar. However it is not a detergent as in laundry detergent. The detergent used there is many times harsher and is ionic. Refrence: i'm a molecular biologist/geneticist
Matt, thanks for your comments. Best of luck regarding the transplant. And special thanks for the info regarding Polysorbate-80. As I said before, it doesn't worry me. But after reading your description, I'm not concerned at all. Thanks!
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