This 100-Year-Old Pickle Factory In Remote Indiana Gives Free Tours That Will Make Your Summer Spectacular
By Elizabeth Crozier|Published May 31, 2019
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Elizabeth Crozier
Author
An Illinois transplant who grew up and went to school in Indiana for 22 years, Elizabeth holds a BFA in creative writing and has enjoyed traveling across the country and parts of Europe. She has visited half of the states, as well as parts of Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean, and regularly travels home to the Hoosier State to see friends and family. With more than five years of writing experience, Elizabeth’s articles have been featured on several websites, and her poetry and short stories have been published in multiple literary journals.
Sometimes the treasures found in small town Indiana are gems we want to keep to ourselves, but there’s an attraction in St. Joe that is just too much fun to keep contained. These free pickle factory tours will teach you all about the art of everyone’s favorite brined cucumber, and the best part is the tasting at the end. Check it out:
Sechler's Pickles are a local Indiana brand that Hoosiers in the northeast corner of the state can't resist. These perfectly brined cucumbers are made in a town so tiny it doesn't even have a stop light.
St. Joe, Indiana is located in DeKalb County and is home to less than 500 residents. Around town, you'll find a couple churches, a bar, an elementary school, and a dynamite pizza shop, which you can get more details about here.
The factory and showroom are tucked away on a remote part of State Road 1 about 25 miles northeast of Fort Wayne. Here is where you'll find just about every flavor of pickle you can imagine.
There is also a retail-only outlet store in Fremont that is available year round.
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Sechler's makes 54 different products, which you can order online and have shipped to your door. Favorites include the hamburger dills, sweet bread & butter slices, apple cinnamon chunks, salsas, and much more.
When it comes to the free pickle factory tours, parties of six or more are asked to call at least a week ahead of time. Otherwise, smaller groups can come learn how pickles are made April through October between Monday and Thursday.
Tours begin every 30 minutes between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. as well as between 12:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. Each is led by a staff member who may just be a Schechler in the flesh.
Guests are asked to wear closed-toes shoes since you're going to get up close and personal with the machinery.
Your tour guide will lead you through and explain the whole process of making their delicious pickles. It begins with boxes of cucumbers that have been freshly picked from Midwest farms. They are sorted by size before being aged and cleaned.
The next step is the flavoring. Pure sugar is used to get the best taste. A second sweetening processes is used for the candied pickles. All that's left after all that is to cut them up, add any additional ingredients like spices and peppers, and put them in jars with labels.
Sechler’s Pickle Factory is so popular that there is a festival held in this town each August to celebrate it. The showroom is open Monday through Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. as well as Saturday between 8:30 a.m. and 12 p.m. Get more details on its website or Facebook page.
Have you ever taken one of these pickle factory tours? If so, we’d love to hear from you. Please share your experiences and photos with us below in the comments.
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