A Pickle is Born Pickles begin life, of course, as fresh green cucumbers.   Mt. Olive buys over 130 million pounds of cucumbers and peppers each year in over nine states and two foreign countries. About one-third of that is purchased from independent growers in North Carolina.    Cucumbers are brought from the fields to a receiving station to be inspected and separated into sizes. During the process of receiving and grading the cucumbers at the receiving station and later after they are transported to Mt. Olive's production facility, they are subject to various cleaning processes designed to rid the cucumbers of excessive stems, blossoms and other extraneous matter.    Cucumbers which are transported long distances are generally chilled at the receiving station and transported in refrigerated trucks in order to better preserve the fresh appearance and texture of the cucumber. more Back to Top