Claussen is an American brand of

pickled cucumber A pickled cucumber (commonly known as a pickle in the United States and Canada and a gherkin in Britain, Ireland, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand) is a usually small or miniature cucumber that has been pickled in a brine, vinegar ...

s that is headquartered in

Woodstock, Illinois Woodstock is a city in (and the county seat of) McHenry County, Illinois, United States. It is located 45 miles northwest of Chicago, making it one of the city's outer-most suburbs. Per the 2020 census, the population was 25,630. The city's hist ...

, an

exurb An exurb (or alternately: exurban area) is an area outside the typically denser inner suburban area, at the edge of a metropolitan area, which has some economic and commuting connection to the metro area, low housing density, and growth. It sh ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. Unlike many other brands, Claussen pickles are uncooked and are typically located in the

refrigerated The term refrigeration refers to the process of removing heat from an enclosed space or substance for the purpose of lowering the temperature.International Dictionary of Refrigeration, http://dictionary.iifiir.org/search.phpASHRAE Terminology, ht ...

section of

grocery store A grocery store ( AE), grocery shop ( BE) or simply grocery is a store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday U.S. usage, however, "grocery store" is a synonym for supermarket, a ...

s. Claussen is advertised as having superior crunchiness to other brands. In a 1992

television advertisement A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...

, Claussen pickles were shown to snap under pressure, whereas unidentified competing brands merely bent without snapping. In response, Vlasic Foods Inc. submitted a complaint to an advertising industry tribunal, claiming that the commercial was unfair and misleading. Ultimately, however, the claims of Claussen were upheld by the tribunal.

History

The company C. F. Claussen & Sons was founded by Claus Claussen Sr. in Chicago in May 1870. Claussen was a vegetable farmer on land that today is in the

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

city limits at 51st and South Western Blvd. He had a surplus crop of cucumbers one year, and so he decided to pickle them. Claussen pickles were produced on the same piece of land until 1976 when the plant moved to Woodstock, Illinois. Claus Claussen Sr. was succeeded by his son Claus S. Claussen, who was serving as president of the company when he died following an automobile accident on December 20, 1932. William C. Claussen (b. 1890) served as president of the Claussen Pickle Company as well. The company was sold to

Oscar Mayer Oscar Mayer is an American meat and cold cut producer known for its hot dogs, bologna, bacon, ham, and Lunchables products. The company is a subsidiary of the Kraft Heinz Company and based in Chicago, Illinois. History Early years German im ...

in 1970. Oscar Mayer was later acquired by

General Foods General Foods Corporation was a company whose direct predecessor was established in the United States by Charles William Post as the Postum Cereal Company in 1895. The company changed its name to "General Foods" in 1929, after several corporate ...

in 1981, who in turn merged with Kraft, Inc. in 1990 to form Kraft General Foods, renamed

Kraft Foods The second incarnation of Kraft Foods is an American food manufacturing and processing conglomerate, split from Kraft Foods Inc. in 2012 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It became part of Kraft Heinz in 2015. A merger with Heinz, arran ...

in 1995. In 2015, Kraft Foods and Heinz agreed to a merger, and Kraft Foods became known as

Kraft Heinz The Kraft Heinz Company (KHC), commonly known as Kraft Heinz, is an American multinational food company formed by the merger of Kraft Foods and Heinz co-headquartered in Chicago and Pittsburgh. Kraft Heinz is the third-largest food and beverage ...

. In 2002, the investment group that owned Vlasic Pickles sought to acquire the Claussen brand as well. The Federal Trade Commission blocked the proposed merger on the grounds that it would have severe anticompetitive effects, leading to a monopoly in the refrigerated-pickle market.

Varieties

Claussen pickles come in several varieties: * Kosher Dills (whole, halves, spears, mini dills, and sandwich slices) *

Deli Deli may refer to: * Delicatessen, a shop selling specially prepared food, or food prepared by such a shop * Sultanate of Deli, a former sultanate in North Sumatra, Indonesia Places * Deli, Boyer-Ahmad, a village in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Pro ...

Style Hearty Garlic (sandwich slices and wholes) * New York Deli Half Sours (wholes) * Burger Slices * Hot & Spicy (spears and chips)

Other products

Additionally, Claussen manufactures

sauerkraut Sauerkraut (; , "sour cabbage") is finely cut raw cabbage that has been fermented by various lactic acid bacteria. It has a long shelf life and a distinctive sour flavor, both of which result from the lactic acid formed when the bacteria ferm ...

and a sweet pickle

relish A relish is a cooked and pickled product made of chopped vegetables, fruits or herbs and is a food item typically used as a condiment to enhance a staple. Examples are chutneys and the North American relish, a pickled cucumber jam eaten with ho ...

that won the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The ...

''s June 18, 2008, Taster's Choice challenge.

References

External links

* {{portal bar, Food Kraft Foods brands Woodstock, Illinois Companies based in McHenry County, Illinois Pickles