Do you make your own Pickles? I need to ask you some questions.

I have made pickles for years. You ned to use a cold packer for canning them. Otherwise get a refridgerator dill recipe. Canning is dangerous and you need to know what you are doing. If you want more info I will help.
(Old norwegian recipe)

I'm not canning. Thanks!

It doesn't sound like it would do much for the flavour in that time. Is there no vinegar in the recipe?

clever troll? It takes a lot longer than a few days to make a vinegar pickle (quick way). It takes even longer than that to make fermented pickles (long old way) which you are attempting to describe, although without educating yourself about it.

I just use vinegar, brown sugar and boilng hot water poured into ALREADY boiled jars; then just cap them. Lasted over one year, NO refrigeration !

Eagle

Seriously though, please read up on fermented foods and the old fashioned process that you are attempting.

but thats what popey would do.

when in a hurry he always does isn't he...

Someone needs to post the Pickle Surprise video.

I always went the easy way, and bought a Pickle Mix package.
..But I did can mine.
Actually canning pickles is very easy. It only takes a hot water bath canner...or any big stock pot with a lid, where you can get the water high enough to keep a rolling boil, and have the lids of the jars covered with an inch of water.

Going this route..it's the easiest way..
Just mix the package of stuff with some vinegar and water, add some sugar or salt to make a brine...then pour it over the cucumbers in the jars.
Place the lids, and process in the hot water bath for the rec. time ( about 10 minutes, or less)to ensure the jars seal...and you are done!
It can all be done in 1 afternoon...and the next day you can eat pickles!

Yours is a fermented pickle recipe or a 'brine' pickle.

Relatively easy, but a bit more dangerous than 'canned pickles' or 'easy pickles'.

The first can take a few weeks to get the 'perfect pickle'. Some recipes call for changing the brine. You will find that changing the brine is going to happen a lot with say olives.

Your method will require lots of time and is a 'brine pickling'. It will take at least a month before the pickles get that texture.

White vinegar will give you that pickle flavor that is more commonly found in store bought pickles. The Acid of the vinegar 'destroys' parts of the cells resulting in firm, yet rubbery texture. This is distinctly different from a fresh raw cucumber that is firm without the added rubbery texture.

When it comes to long term storage, you will need to pressure cook the brine only pickles in order to make certain they do not go off over time.

Pickles with white vinegar, tomatoes and other high acid foods can be 'water bath' canned which is simply boiling the jar in a regular bath of water until the contents are heated enough to cause a vacuum seal when cooled.

Vinegar is anti bacterial and will prevent many kinds of bacterial forming, the acids of the vinegar method will break down the cells of the veg you are pickling more rapidly then simple brine.

Pickles requiring pickling cucumbers. Pickling cucumbers are 'warty' and are smaller when fully mature, they often have less seeds as well and are not prone to 'air pockets' later in life.

While you can use 'regular' cucumbers, you need to pick them when small before they are fully seeded.

The Plan is to eat the pickles when they are good. long term storage not necessary.

Tonight I cut the ends off of the ones that were on top after I skimmed off the daily grunge and foam.

The texture I'm going for is like a claussen. Crisp and cucumbery but the dill and garlic needs to be strong and balanced, with a good deal of salt.

Give it a month, keep skimming and watch out for molding. If mold sets in the batch is no good.

my mom makes tons of pickles every year, but I've never seen her try it this way. She always cans them. I may pass this along to her though if you don't mind - she's always looking for new ideas.

They have to be fermented for at least two to three weeks.

You also have to put vinegar in with the mix to kill bacteria. Since you didn't use vinegar, I wouldn't eat them or you'll get food poisoning.

You better throw them out and start over or you'll get sick from Botulism.

Here's the recipe I use;

1 Gallon Recipe
---------------
4 1bs of cucumbers(4 to 6 inches in size)
4 or 5 heads of fresh dill
2 cloves of garlic
2 teaspoons of pickling spice(optional)
8 cups of water
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup pickling or kosher salt

5 Gallon Recipe
---------------
20 lbs cucumbers (4 to 6 inches in size)
20 to 25 heads of fresh dill
10 cloves of garlic
10 teaspoons of pickling salt
40 cups of water
1 1/4 cup of white vinegar
4 1/2 cups pickling salt

1. Wash cucumbers

2. Cut 1/8 inch slice off blossom end of cucumbers

3. Leave 1/2 inch stem attached

4. Place half of dill and optional seasnoing on bottom of a clean suitable container. A plastic 2 or 5 gallon food grade bucket. NOTE: Don't use any buckets that previously held oil or chemicals because this will leach into the pickles and would be potentially toxic.

5. Add cucumbers, remaining dill and seasoning.

6. Combine water and vinegar, add salt, stirring to dissolve; pour over cucumbers

7. Add suitable cover(a clean ceramic dinner plate and brine water in clear plastic bags as a weight to keep cucumbers submerged)

8. Cover container with a clean, odor-free towel. Secure towel to top of bucket with a string, an elastic band, or a chain of rubber bands.

9. Store at temperatures between 70 to 75 F for 2 1/2 to 3 weeks. 60 to 65 F will take 3 to 4 weeks. Avoid temperatures above 80 F or pickles will become soft.

10. Check container several time a week and promply remove surface scum.

11. Fermented pickles can be stored in the refrigerator for 4 to 6 weeks.

12. Pickles can be canned by boiling the brine, straining it and pouring it over the pickles inside the canning jars.

Here's the correct 5 gallon recipe;

5 Gallon Recipe
---------------
20 lbs cucumbers (4 to 6 inches in size)
20 to 25 heads of fresh dill
10 cloves of garlic
10 teaspoons of pickling spice(optional)
40 cups of water
1 1/4 cup of white vinegar
4 1/2 cups pickling salt

I got the pickling spice mixed up with the pickling salt.

if you want the best dills you ever ate, yes, do this. if you are not tasting a change yet, then perhaps it is too cool, and the micro organisms are not growing. You did not cover the crock did you? it needs the bacteria and yeasts from the air.

We make them with alum. Pickling cukes in alum/water for three days; repeat for a total of three times. Then can them with whatever seasoning - dill, bread n butter, etc.

I have a small plate holding the pickles down beneath the solution, otherwise it's open-air.

I cut the ends off of the cukes yesterday and am told this will make all the difference. Bottom-Dwelling cukes still have their ends. I intend to try one tonight to see if there's any progress.

I can tell fermentation is happening by the froth on top of the pot.

you should taste my pickle

Your Mom told me it isn't very satisfying.

Funny you ask this. I JUST got done making more pickles. I've been canning for weeks. Here's my recipe. My husband took the pickles to work and everyone wanted to marry me for them. lol

[link to www.cooks.com]

this is the only recipe worth anything. It's simple and very good.

matter of fact, as I was typing the last post, the timer went off for my pickles . Gardening is great!

Sad end to the Pickle Experiment:

I was doing my nightly scum skimming and noticed that the cukes had dissolved into a soft mush.

Dumped it all out and found two cukes that were cohesive, tasted one, spit it out.

So, no go.

Sadz.

Funny, I tried the same thing about 2 months ago with my massive amount of garden cukes, anyway, Claussen is what I was trying for, and I ended up just like you did with mushy salty cukes. Anyway, the next day I took a cuke, peeled it and put it in the juice of the claussens that I had just finished, and 6 hours later I had a new jar. Far from grandmas recipe, but damn good. I got 3 jars full before the liquid absorbed the cuke juice and didnt work anymore.

I've heard of this method. If we get more cukes might try it out, but we've got a line on a stable recipe from my Mother in Law.

Basically, I like the claussens texture but feel the flavor could have a bit more "zing" of garlic and dill.

In the winter when I can't grow the cucumbers I buy the Claussen pickles. Add 15 whole pepper corns, 3 or 4 cloves of chunked up garlic, 2 teaspoons of mustard seed, half of your favorite hot pepper (sliced in to strips) and 1 whole dried red chilli pepper.

Not bad for a winter pickle. Works in the summer too. Believe it or not.

Sorry forgot the additional dill.

Let them sit in the fridge for a couple of weeks too.

1. The temperature was above 80 Degrees

2. You didn't use vinegar

That's why they turned to mush so quickly.

The pickle bucket has to be covered with a cloth or clean handtowel secured with an elastic band(so it can breathe) and kept in a cool place.

greg........^^^^^ follow that.


i fucked up 4 cases last time i dunnem

they came out limp dicks.


i hadda thread on it in 09 IINM

Important use much less salt then the recipe calls for, if you feel you need more add salt as the pickles cure, then at the end before bottling add about a halve cup of vinegar.