Saturday, September 24, 2022

Exotic/Disgusting Foods and Beverages Forum--Two Polish/American Vegetables

      Today's post was another random find, which I discovered while shopping for regular old veggies a few months ago.  I happened to read some labels on some cans and jars nearby, and lo and behold, I saw that a couple of them were actually products of Poland.  Granted, the two examples were common foods, but since they were made and processed in another country I counted that as good enough.  Anyway, these were from the Pkl'd brand, their pickles (as in pickled cucumbers) and their sauerkraut.

     As usual, after trying them I went online, trying to get some background and information about the manufacturer.  And man, was that difficult.  This is one of the bigger mysteries I've encountered for this blog--not quite Kijafa liquor (see my June 5, 2021 post for more on that), but up there.  Because as far as I can tell, Pkl'd, or its parent company T'sty Brands Inc., doesn't have even a terse website, such as one which is just a product list and what stores stock them.  There's a website listed on the jars, but it led me to a message that concluded with "still being worked on.  Check back later.".  I couldn't find anything, not even a Facebook page.  It also was unfortunate that these folks chose one of the most generic company names--not shockingly many other businesses use "tasty brands," as their title.  (Even, oddly, a clothing line--I guess they're using "tasty" with a different meaning.)  The only info I could get was from other websites.  Some of these were mostly unhelpful, listing the calorie and nutritional details from one of their products.  Others gave some better background, but just a little bit.  For example, I learned that the brand name Pkl'd was registered as a trademark in March of 2019.  Three folks with the same surname were listed as director or officers--Anna Witek, Andrzej Witek, and Kryzysztof Witek.  (Although the first two were then listed as being removed a couple of years later.)  The company was said to be makers of meat, fish, poultry, game meat, meat extracts, dried and cooked fruit and vegetables, jellies, jams, sauces, eggs, milk, milk products, and edible oils and fats.  Another website, Buzzfile, gave an address, phone number, and a different list of executives--Andrzej Witek is the President, Krzysztof Witek is the Vice President, and Anna Witek is the Secretary.  Supposedly T'sty Brands was incorporated in November of 2017.  It also, amazingly, had an incredibly exact company annual revenue, of (allegedly), $367,688.  (What, no cents?!  How imprecise!)  The Connecticut address had an apartment number, and claimed the number of employees was 2.  Anyway, this information made it look like this company is still a very small business, perhaps working out of an apartment that's also a residence.  And probably needless to say, I could find absolutely nothing about what facility the foods are processed in back in Poland, or where they're grown, etc.  So I guess we're going old school, and the food itself is the only selling point, bereft of any online help as of now.


T'sty Brands, Inc., P'kld pickles:  These were small, gherkin-style pickles--about 2.5 to 3 inches long (about 7-8 cm.), with a diameter of about .75 inches (about 2 cm.).  Typical green color, with the warty bumps that are usually on gherkins.  Some vinegar-y odor.  I tried some plain, and they tasted like a regular sour gherkin.  Not the best pickle I've ever had, but not the worst either.  Solid, but not memorable.  I also tried some on a sub (aka hoagie) roll, with some beets and some of the P'kld sauerkraut.  This combo was okay, I guess.  All in all these were average pickles.  Additionally, for more information about gherkins, see my post on cornichons from February 17, 2016.


T'sty Brands, Inc., P'kld sauerkraut:  Again, the look was what I expected--shredded bits of yellow cabbage.  Smelled like vinegar.  As I mentioned for the pickles, I tried this on a roll with the pickles and some beets, and the results were okay.  Plain, it tasted like regular sauerkraut.  I'm kind of ambivalent about sauerkraut in general--it's alright on certain things, like hot dogs, but if it's not there I don't really miss it that much.  Plain this sauerkraut also tasted about the same as any sauerkraut.  It was better on the roll with the other things, but I can't say it was great or anything.


     In conclusion, if you enjoy pickles, and/or sauerkraut, P'kld's take on them will probably do just fine.  I was a tad disappointed, though.  I was kind of hoping that Polish style versions would be markedly different and special.   Like say, the subject of my May 1, 2021 post, about Cleveland Kitchen's sauerkrauts, including their take on Korean kimchi.  (That post also has some history about sauerkraut itself, if you're curious.)  

     As a preview, October is coming up soon.  Since it's Scary Month, I'll be posting about several classic horror movies, along with some other Halloween-ish themes.  And yes, at least one will be about a topical food or beverage.  Plus, obviously, detail about two publications that will feature my writing--the "Death's Garden Revisited" book, and the October issue of  "InD'tale."



















  

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