Why Ingredients Matter (And What We Leave Out)
Why Ingredients Matter (And What We Leave Out)
There’s something special about growing your own food.
Watching the garden come to life.
The excitement of the first tomatoes.
The smell of fresh herbs on your hands.
The feeling that summer somehow tastes better when it came from your own backyard.
Randy and I were both lucky enough to grow up in families with beautiful vegetable gardens, and honestly, it became part of who we are.
Gardening isn’t just something we do.
It’s how we slow down.
How we connect.
How we spend time together.
And years ago, one particularly enthusiastic cucumber season changed everything.
Too Many Cucumbers (A Very Real Problem)
One summer, our garden absolutely exploded with cucumbers.
We had bowls of them on the counter.
Extras in the fridge.
Neighbors politely avoiding eye contact in case we tried to hand them more.
So we decided:
Let’s make pickles.
Simple enough, right?
I found one of those pickle-making seasoning pouches at the grocery store and thought we were all set.
But then I flipped it over.
And I couldn’t even pronounce half the ingredients.
I remember thinking:
“There has to be a better way.”
Because if we grew these cucumbers ourselves, with real dirt, real sunshine, and real effort... why were we covering them in ingredients that didn’t feel real to us?
And that’s where everything started.
The Experiments Begin
Luckily, we both love to cook.
So the experiments started.
And there were… a lot of experiments.
Some good.
Some very bad.
Some that were way too salty.
Some that somehow tasted sweet and spicy and confusing all at once.
But slowly, we started figuring it out.
I’ve always loved bread & butter pickles.
Randy is a classic dill guy.
So between the two of us, we had the sweet vs. salty debate pretty well covered from the start.
We played with garlic.
Different vinegars.
Spices.
Heat levels.
And eventually, the recipes became jars we were genuinely excited to share.
The Part That Changed Everything
We started giving jars to friends and family.
And people kept asking for more.
Then one day, someone asked if we could make pickles for a family wedding.
And somehow…
That little backyard hobby suddenly became something much bigger.
That’s how Backyard Brine was born.
Not from a business plan.
Not from a factory.
From a garden.
A kitchen.
And the simple idea that ingredients matter.
Why We Still Care So Much About Ingredients
That original moment at the grocery store still sticks with us.
Because food should feel real.
Especially the kind of food you share around a table with people you love.
That’s why we care deeply about what goes into every jar and bottle we make.
And what stays out of them.
What We Leave Out Matters Too
We believe great flavor doesn’t need shortcuts.
That’s why you won’t find things like high fructose corn syrup in our sauces.
No high fructose corn syrup. Ever.
And it’s why we avoid artificial firming agents in our pickles.
We’d rather make products the old-school way, with real ingredients, balanced flavor, and the kind of recipes that feel homemade because they actually started that way.
Relish the Facts
Did you know?
Many shelf-stable pickles use calcium chloride as a firming agent to create an extra-hard texture.
We take a different approach.
Our pickles are meant to be enjoyed chilled from the fridge, where they develop that naturally crisp bite the old-fashioned way.
No shortcuts required.
From Backyard Garden to Backyard Table
At the end of the day, Backyard Brine still feels a lot like those first cucumber seasons.
A little messy.
A lot homemade.
Built around sharing food with people.
Every jar still carries a little piece of that original garden story.
And honestly?
We wouldn’t want it any other way.
Build Your Own Backyard Box
Want to taste the flavors that started it all?
The Backyard Box = You Choose Custom 6 Pack lets you mix and match your favorite pickles and gourmet condiments. Choose from classic dills to sweet-and-spicy chips, mustards, BBQ sauces, and more.
Build your own lineup and bring a little backyard flavor to your table.
[Shop The Backyard Box →]
A Little July Preview…
Next month in The Brine Times:
Summer hosting, picnic-table favorites, and the jars we never show up without.Relish the moment