Pickles

[Mike H]

My first attempt at making pickles.
1.5 Qt crock
4-5 Cucumbers Quartered

Brine Mix
1 Tablespoon Kosher Salt
1 Tablespoon Pickling Spice
4 Cloves Garlic
6 Bay Leaves
1 Teaspoon Dill
1 Teaspoon Peppercorn

Boil 1/2 Quart water with Brine mix, let cool and pour over quartered and packed cucumbers.

Cover with small plate and cover, let naturally ferment for 7-10 days. Not sure how long, but plan on tasting them as we go along. Recommendations or suggestions for the next batch would be appreciated.

Ingredients


How it looked put together


Small plate to weigh down cucumbers and covered. Wait.

[Mike H]

According to Wikipedia- The fermentation process is entirely dependent on the naturally occurring Lactobacillus bacteria that normally cover the skin of a growing cucumber. Since these are routinely removed during commercial harvesting/packing processes, traditionally prepared pickles can only be made from freshly harvested cucumbers, unless the bacteria are artificially replaced.

Since these were store bought cukes, I am wondering if it will work.

[barrycv]

In the summer I do refrigerator pickles, which looks to be pretty much what you did there. I don't have recipes handy, but a quick google search will yield what I typically do.

Alton Brown has some good recipes, which is where I got my first inspiration / recipe to do it.

[Jeff C]

I use a Picklemeister contraption with an airlock, takes about 5 to 7 days. I love the juice they make and save some to add to my next batch. I do find that there is a fine line with garlic, too much can really overpower the pickes, especially if you cut up the garlic it tends to realize more of the flavour, left whole not so much.

I also use the Picklemeister to make sauerkraut.

[Mr B]

How did this turn out?

[Mike H]

How did this turn out?

I'm on day three, just now seeing some action. Taste tested and I think its going in the right direction.

[BobS]

If you get a chance, see if you can find sone fresh dill.

[Robert45]

Your receipe reminds me of something I read where the writer said regarding Bay Leaf, "I never heard anyone say, 'it needs more Bay Leaf'". Anyway, pickles are good...they are a food AND a drink!

[nrv216]

MMM pickles! Very interested in this thread! Love me some homemade pickle dip! (cream cheese, pickle chunks and pickle juice on potato chips) I am sure it would be even better with homemade pickles!

nrv216

[Topgumby]

As long as they ain't those kerosene cucumbers that Aunt Bee makes, I'm all for 'em.

"I don't know if I can face the future knowing that there's eight quarts of those pickles in it."

[Jim]

Mike your plan sounds great.Looking forward to hearing about the results.

[Mike H]

I moved the pickles to the fridge. They were just OK. Not as crisp as I had hoped. Also not much dill flavor. The pickling spice was heavy on cinnamon, did not care for that either.

For the next try, I added more salt, cut back on garlic, removed the pickling spice and bay leaves, added fresh dill and an oak leaf for crispness.

My second attempt at making pickles.
1.5 Qt crock
4 Cucumbers Quartered

Brine Mix
2 Tablespoon Kosher Salt
1 Cloves Garlic, sliced
1 White Oak leaf
1 Teaspoon dry Dill,
2 Tablespoon chopped fresh dill
1 Teaspoon Peppercorn
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Boil 1/2 Quart water with salt, let cool and pour over remaining ingredients and quartered and packed cucumbers.

[turtle]

Add a little alum to help with the crispness. You need to have some on the shelf for shaving emergencies anyway

[Jim]

A lot of the on-line recipes are for refrigerator pickles not fermented ones. For a crisper pickle you can use a 5% sodium solution to insure only the "good" microbes are at work on the pickle. I have found that 50 grams of salt in a liter of water is a good place to start. My last batch took 5 weeks at 65 degrees.

[Mike H]

Thanks for the information Jim. Looks like I may have been heavy handed with the salt.

[Rughi]

I'm getting inspired to try some pickles my own self.
I usually check with Alton Brown or Cooks Illustrated to see if there's any science-y stuff to keep in mind.
And then I wing it.

Science-y stuff to consider:

• The stem end may hold cucurbitaicin and other enzymes that could make the pickles bitter and/or mushy. Trim the stem end off, just in case.
• 5 1/2 ounces of pickling salt (by weight) per gallon of water
• Chlorinated tap water will kill the fermentation micro-critters, use filtered or bottled
• Aim for 70 degrees maximum heat (Jim's 65 degrees may be better advice)

Maybe sometime this week I'll get some pickles and get on it!

Roger

[Mike H]

My second batch was worse than first. Pickles developed a funny odor and were very mushy. I used tap water and too much salt. Still time left this summer to try again.
Thank you Jim and Roger for the tips.

[Mycon]

The timing of this thread is fortuitous, since my mom and I are planning on canning a bunch of pickles tomorrow.
Both of us tend to favor a more sour pickle, but we do not have time to ferment them. Are there any pointers you gents could give? What kind of vinegar (white, white wine, cider) should we use? How much salt? etc...
We got 21 pounds of pickling cukes from the farmers' market yesterday, and I would hate to screw them up.

[Jeff C]

Here is my latest batch, five days total so far, about 2 more days to go and they'll be ready to take out of my picklemeister and refrigerate. I just fill up the container with sliced kirby cukes and then add 1 TSP salt to 1 cup filtered water and keep adding until there is enough water. I put them under my kitchen sink where the temp is probably in the upper 60s or so. I just add whatever spices are on hand, this time it was just dill and a few peppercorns. Other times I might add an onion or some garlic. Note the nice cloudy water from the ferment. When I took it out a lot of bubbles came up, also a good sign.

[Jim]

Looking good Jeff!