By Associated Press, 6/2/2003

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- If you've noticed your pickles have less and less dill flavoring, you're not alone.

Researchers at the University of Arkansas' food science department say they've spotted a downward trend in one of America's favorite garnishes. Pickle makers, they said, aren't using as much dill as they used to.

"There may not really be much in their manufactured products," said Ron Buescher, who heads the department. "Some companies just don't want a lot of dill."

Evaluating the nation's pickle producers' products is the task of the university's pickle research program, founded in 1978 and funded by grants from Pickle Packers International, a trade group of the pickled vegetable industry.

The scientists measure the amount and type of dill contained in the products of about 90 percent of the country's pickle producers. They rate the pickles' dill content, flavor, texture and color, and provide confidential reports on how each company stacks up to the competition.

Buescher said last week that the downward trend of dill use goes back many years. It can partly be explained by regional tastes, like how Texans prefer a spicier pickle.

"So a dill pickle in California will taste different than a dill pickle out of New York City," said Richard Hentschel, executive vice president of Pickle Packers International, based in St. Charles, Ill.