USA TODAY NETWORK   –   MacKenzie Elmer, The Des Moines Register

DES MOINES — Two 18-year-olds who were shot outside an Ankeny McDonald’s Saturday night reportedly said something about pickles inside the restaurant that made their alleged shooter angry about their behavior, police say.

Gabriel Joe Coco, 36, of Des Moines, turned himself into the Polk County Sheriff’s Office at 10:44 p.m. Saturday, when the log notes that the suspect in the shooting was in custody, authorities said.

According to police logs, at 10:23 p.m. outside a McDonald’s in the 2500 block of S.W. State St. in Ankeny, someone identified as “Nick” called 911 , reporting that a person had been “pistol-whipped and shot in (the) leg.”

“This guy was just in the McDonald’s. Caller was upset about pickles, and the male beat him,” dispatchers wrote in the log, which gives police information about a crime scene as they approach.

Police arrived to find Nickolas Culver and his friend Justin Phongsavanh, both 18, with gunshot wounds. Capt. Joe Schaffer of the Ankeny Police Department said investigators mentioned that a “Nick” tried to call 911 that night, but it wasn’t clear if it was Culver.

“The reason these kids were shot was not because of pickles,” Shaffer said, adding that they “alluded” to something about pickles. “There was an interaction between McDonald’s staff and the victims in this case. … What our suspect saw, he did not agree with.”

Whatever happened inside the store allegedly irked Coco, who responded with violence, police said.

Coco didn’t know the boys, Schaffer said, and the 18-year-olds’ comments and “poor behavior” weren’t directed at anyone specific inside the restaurant, Schaffer said.

“But it particularly bothered Mr. Coco,” Schaffer said, declining to elaborate.

The shooter allegedly left in a black Chevy driven by a woman before turning himself in, according to the log.

The handgun Coco allegedly used in the shooting was still inside the vehicle when he arrived, the trip log states. Shaffer said police have not had a chance to confirm who owned the gun but said Saturday was the first time Ankeny police interacted with Coco.

Police identified the female driver but did not charge her, according to a news release.

Culver was released from Mercy Medical Center at 1:15 p.m. Sunday, but Phongsavanh remained Monday in hospital care. Gregg Lagan of Mercy Medical Center said Phongsavanh was in the Intensive Care Unit in serious but stable condition.

Coco is charged with two felony counts of willful injury, a charge that carries up to 10 years in prison.

Coco was released from the Polk County Jail at about 5:30 a.m. Sunday.

Management at the restaurant declined to comment Monday.

Published on 23/10/2015 by Fiona Briggs in Condiments, Product Time

The English Provender Co. has launched a range of premium pickles, set to revolutionise the stagnating pickle market and drive consumer engagement.  Building on the brand’s proven success within the wider category – the number one chutney brand in the UK with 13% market share – the product range addresses a real gap in the market and delivers an attractive alternative to current pickle offerings.

The four-strong range combines contemporary, creative combinations to deliver a distinctive range of great tasting pickles: Proper Pickle in Chunky and Finely Chopped options, Beetroot Pickle and the unique Pickled Onion Pickle. Available from Waitrose and ASDA stores nationwide from October 2015, the pickles come at an RRP of £1.50.

Made with authentic, natural ingredients that champion British produce and with no added perservatives, colours or flavours, the pickles are aimed at ABC1 consumers looking for a  quality pickle to add to sandwiches and salads.

Joanne Walsh, brand manager at English Provender Co,, said: “Our research* revealed that consumers perceive the category as old-fashioned and dull and with no innovation in recent years there was a clear gap in the market for premium, great tasting pickles.

“Our Proper Pickle range is just as pickle should be – naturally delicious with a more refined flavour and texture to appeal to time-poor consumers looking for something different. With flavours to suit individual preferences and tastes, the range has already received fantastic feedback and we’re confident it will help bring the pickle category back into growth.”

New contemporary labels will highlight the simplicity of its natural ingredients and champion British produce. With strong in-store stand out the range is presented in a slender 305g format, which stays true to EPC’s iconic premium square glass jars, for added convenience for both customers and consumers.

Walsh adds: “With 92% of UK consumers eating a least one sandwich a week*, from traditional sandwiches to burritos, paninis and toasties, our Proper Pickle range offers a strong opportunity for retailers to increase their revenue and re-engage consumers within the category. Moreover, there is huge growth potential outside the main lunch occasion, such as the consumption of pickles with salads.”

The product launch will be supported by a heavyweight PR campaign, digital advertising and targeted in-store sampling and outdoor sampling.

By Catherine Krummey   –   Grand Forks Herald

By Diana Henry   –   The Telegraph

If a man ever asks you to try his “new greens”, I’d advise you to take him up on the offer. That was the invitation I received from pickling and fermenting expert Nick Vadasz. A week later I’m standing in an industrial unit in Hackney peering into a big plastic bucket. Murky brown liquid, flecked with chili, garlic and herbs, surrounds a mass of bright green cucumbers curling in upon themselves like snakes.

“New greens” are what these are called in New York’s Jewish delis. Vadasz fishes one out with extra-long tongs. I bite into it. It’s crispy, sour, garlicky, spicy – I immediately want to take the whole bucket home. And I’m not alone: we British are developing a taste for the sour and Vadasz is one of a growing number of producers selling fermented foods and teaching others how to pickle, too.

“My Hungarian dad passed on two skills to me. One was the ability to swear brilliantly in Hungarian, the other was to make great pickles,” Vadasz laughs. “I started fermenting because it’s part of my heritage. It seemed like an ethical and sensible way to deal with foods that were plentiful, too. I also realized there were lots of Eastern Europeans living here who couldn’t get the sour pickles and krauts they ate back home, so I spotted a gap in the market.”

Think fermentation is just a foodie trend? Stay with me. You already eat lots of fermented foods – including wine, vinegar, cheese, yogurt, sourdough and salami – all made using the mysterious power of microbes. More distant cultures consume them in greater quantities: kefir, slightly sour fermented milk, is drunk in the Caucasus; labneh is a staple of the Middle East; fermented pickles are offered at every meal in Japan; kimchi, spiced fermented cabbage, is a staple in Korea.

To ferment vegetables all you need is salt. To make your own yogurt you just need some live yogurt. To ferment milk or water you need to get kefir grains (you can find them online). It might seem mysterious at first, but pickling isn’t difficult and it’s a great kitchen adventure.

“The way fermentation transforms foods is quite magical,” agrees Vadasz. “Shred and pound some cabbage. Add salt to create a brine. Within that brine you have natural sugars that are activated by the yeasts in the vegetables and in the air. You don’t add sugar or vinegar. The cabbage sours and keeps because of lactic acid fermentation. All you have to do is keep the cabbage submerged and observe the changes in flavor.”

Some people are interested in fermented foods for health reasons – they are said to improve gut health – but I’m interested because of taste. During a recent trip to the United States (where pickling evangelist Sandor Katz kick-started the trend with his 2003 book Wild Fermentation) the best meal I had was at Bar Tartine in San Francisco. It was brunch, but there was no French toast with maple syrup; just home-made yogurt, fermented vegetables and kefir butter.

At first I groaned – I even tweeted a picture of the menu because it was so achingly hip – but it turned out to be a meal of startling flavours. There was sourness – from the fermented elements – and a real earthiness. This meal and Vadasz’s “new greens” are the most persuasive argument I’ve encountered for fermenting at home.

But how do we know what we’re creating in our own kitchens is the product of good bacteria and isn’t just food rotting? Food writerCharlotte Pike’s new book, Fermented, should help you embark on experiments confidently. Her recipe for Kombucha – fermented tea – is simplicity itself. It tastes like tart apple juice with a dash of cider vinegar and, chilled, is addictive.

“Darling, my kefir has died,” reads the opening line of an email I receive from a friend living not in fermentation haven California but Dublin. It’s easy to laugh at the obsessiveness of food lovers, but she has my sympathy. Now that I’ve dipped my toes into the pickle barrel I’m fired up with enthusiasm. In fact, I’m waiting impatiently for my own kefir grains to ferment the cream I’m going to turn into butter.

There’s a cat named Mr. Pickles who lives among the residents of the Bayview Retirement community. As a pet therapist he brings warmth and love to the residents of the entire building. See the full story of this cute (and tubby) animal.