It wasn't until Allison Cesati found herself in a major pickle that she realized pickling was her calling. It was winter, and she had just injured her leg, leaving her unable to get the physical exercise she wanted. But one thing she found herself wanting that was within reach was salt: lots of it. Fearful of filling up on unhealthy chips, Allison sent hubby Andrew to the grocery store to track down a more waistline-friendly salty alternative: pickles.
Allison and Andrew tried to enjoy their new snack choice, but found that it only tasted like chemicals. They were disappointed by the brine of preservatives, sugar and artificial ingredients in mainstream pickles, as well as their practices of outsourcing. So, they decided to take matters into their own hands.
Starting out in 2011 with just waxy store-bought cucumbers in a pot on their camp stove, the Park City, Utah couple gradually began sourcing local ingredients to make pickles in small batches—just 16 jars at a time. Aiming to support local agriculture businesses by keeping production in-house and dedicating attention to detail and sustainability that couldn't be duplicated by their factory-made counterparts, Allison and Andrew founded Yee-Haw Pickle Company. Why Yee-Haw? The couple shares the same enthusiastic exclamation for a powdery day on the slopes as they do for lovingly made pickles. In fact, Andrew and Allison aim to capture the whole ethos of the Mountain West with their brand, adorning the labels with images of a honey cart, an old pickle factory and a bronco buster. After all, these two are trail-blazers on the new frontier of pickling.