Pickle Pleasing: Jaker's Remains a Market Favorite

For most, the pickle is simply a delicatessen garnish. It's a vegetable (though technically a fruit) reserved for a layer on their sandwich or the space on the plate between a burger and fries. 

But for Steve Jaker, the pickle is a way of life. What began as a hobby has now become a lucrative enterprise. 

In fact, he is the namesake of one of the most popular vendors at the Caldwell Farmers' Market: Jaker's Pickles. 

Though a pickle stand might seem like an anomaly among the produce, meat and dairy products, Jaker's Pickles has stood out as a favorite among customers with 27 percent of the votes in an ongoing poll on the farmers' market website.

"As a kid, I always loved going to the deli and getting a good pickle," Jaker said. "It's a tradition that needs to be continued."

The best way for Jaker to continue this tradition was to begin making pickles about four years ago. His hobby went commercial when he created Jaker's Pickles in 2007.   

Jaker was approached to find a pickle vendor for the Woodbridge Farmers' Market. Rather than search for a merchant, he started his own business.  

He now manages Jaker's Pickles part-time. 

Athough he has experience making pickles, Jaker doesn't have the time to produce enough to meet his company's demand. Instead, Jaker's products are made at a pickle store on the Lower East Side of New York under the supervision of a rabbi. 

The young cucumbers, often referred to as kirbys, are soaked in salt water. Depending on the intended flavor and sourness, the amount of salt that is used varies. The less salt, the less sour the pickle. The more salt, the more sour. Some batches are made with assorted spices to give the future pickle extra flavor.

Jaker's business includes a wide selection of pickles of varying flavors. Among them are new, sour, half sour and hot and sour. 

"People [unfamiliar with pickles] come up and they ask 'what's new?' I say, 'not much, what's new with you?'" Jaker said.

Jaker also sells sauerkraut, stuffed olives and pickled tomatoes—his personal favorite.

In the future, Jaker hopes to expand his business and have a more active role in the pickling process. He currently works as a chemical engineer with the Dow Chemical Company in Piscataway. He intends to retire at the end of the year and devote himself full-time to his pickle business.

"I needed something to get away from being an engineer, from sitting behind a computer," Jaker said. "I needed to meet other people and I decided this would be a good venue to do it."

For now, Jaker will continue frequenting the Caldwell Farmers' Market.

The Amish Country Bakery returned to the market on Friday. Also featured this week was a live performance from St. James Bennett and Friends with Sean Faust. 

Replacing Farmival in the market's seventh week was a scavenger hunt for the children. Each participant was given a list of items to look for among the vendors. Once completed, they received a prize.

The farmers' market will continue each Friday through the last week of October. Jaker, who has been a weekly regular since the market began last summer, will remain one of its mainstays. 

"It's beautiful," he said. "Caldwell is my favorite market."