Make your own pickles?

[T.G]

Originally Posted by T.G

Also, I discovered for "regular" cucumbers, you need to peel them, as the rinds tend to stay rather tough for a long time in the brine.

Originally Posted by jkorp

I like that "toughness", it gives it that crisp snap when you take a bite.

That might not be bad, if it was possible to bite though the rind on the ones I bought - some of them are like shoe leather.

[jkorp]

Originally Posted by T.G

That might not be bad, if it was possible to bite though the rind on the ones I bought - some of them are like shoe leather.

Interesting. These were the pickling cukes or regular? How was the ripeness, dark or light green?

[T.G]

Regular & dark green.

Could have just been the grower too - some of his produce is a bit odd (like his radishes, they're the size of racquetballs) at times. But the price was good, $3 for enough to fill 2 one gallon jars when sliced, and he was the only one selling cucumbers at the farmers market that day anyway.

Oh, another good reason just occurred to me about why to peel store bought "regular" cucumbers - it's the only way to completely remove the wax that is sprayed on them.

[gvarsity]

Just made my second batch. My first batch turned out fantastic. Picked up the cukes at the local farmers market. I also discovered a variety of garlic called German white garlic. It is a very powerful rich flavored hard neck garlic. I put a clove or two of that garlic some red pepper flakes, 8-12 black pepper corns, a bunch of fresh dill also from the farmers market, some white onion per quart jar. I added a couple of jalepenos to one of my jars this time and a habanero to another as an experiment and I can't wait to see how they turn out.

[T.G]

Totally forgot about this thread. Thanks for topping it gvarsity.

I'm still tweaking the recipie, but this is my latest recipie though.

Use smaller cucumbers, in the larger ones the seeds are fully developed and rather than pith (the bitter white flesh of the cucumber) they are surrounded by a membrane that turns to goo rapidly in the brine. The less developed the cucumber, the better.

Best results I've had are with what I believe are called "munchers" - small (about 6" to 8" length overall, 1-1/2" or so diameter) very crunchy and horribly bitter cucumber when you eat it raw. These make fantastic pickles...

------------
Enough cucumbers to fill a gallon jar, cut into spears (IIRC, about 4 lbs - I buy them by eye/volume, so I don’t pay that much attention to the weight)
3 cups white vinegar
3 cups distilled water
1 TBS dill seed
1/2 TBS dried dill weed
1 cup coarsely chopped garlic
3 TBS canning salt (if using kosher salt, use 5-1/2 TBS)
1/2 TBS brown mustard seed
1 TBS whole peppercorns
1 TBS Corriander seed
6 dried chilies jalopones (Japanese Chilies - look in the Mexican foods section of your market)

Clean and sterilize a 1 gallon jar, pack with cucumber spears.

Mix all other ingredients into a non-reactive saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil for about a minute or two, and pour into jar over spears.

If it appears that you will not be able to pour all of the brine into the jar, use a spoon to get all of the spices into the jar and top with remaining brine.

Seal immediately and place into refrigerator for 10 days to 2 weeks.

Done properly, this recipe should not ferment.


All measurements are approximate - just keep the water and vinegar at 1:1 ratio and don’t go overboard on the salt.

[Veritas]

I have made a few batches of pickled green beans that turned out excellent. Fresh dill, white onions, fresh garlic, a pile of cayenne all went into the wide mouth jar before stuffing it with the beans and filling with brine. I added a habanero to some of the jars to really kick up the heat. In my celery-averse opinion, these things are the only way to garnish a Bloody Mary.

I think the next batch will have black pepper added.

[gvarsity]

Originally Posted by G.Elrod

I have made a few batches of pickled green beans that turned out excellent. Fresh dill, white onions, fresh garlic, a pile of cayenne all went into the wide mouth jar before stuffing it with the beans and filling with brine. I added a habanero to some of the jars to really kick up the heat. In my celery-averse opinion, these things are the only way to garnish a Bloody Mary.

I think the next batch will have black pepper added.

I'm glad to hear some one mention beans. That was next on my list of things to try. I love pickled beans and hadn't tried making them yet but figured there was no difference between beans and cukes in terms of process. Anyone pickle any other veggies I was tempted to do some pickled mushrooms or brussle sprouts as well.

[kenstogie]

I love homemade stuff!

[tuxpuff]

Originally Posted by gvarsity

Anyone pickle any other veggies I was tempted to do some pickled mushrooms or brussle sprouts as well.

I can vouch for this recipe for pickled jalapeños ...absolutely delicious...

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/pic...nos_escabeche/

[mosesbotbol]

this is an informative thread!

[T.G]

Originally Posted by tuxpuff

I can vouch for this recipe for pickled jalapeños ...absolutely delicious...

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/pic...nos_escabeche/

I've used that recipe before, it is good.

I grew bored with the cooked peppers and the oil, so I went searching for somethng that would have pepper with some snap to it, not unlike a pickle, and I've been using this one of late and it's been working out quite nicely.

http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archive...d_peppers.html

In fact I just made up about half a gallon worth of red jalepenos, a quart of red fresno peppers and a few mixed jars w/ onions and carrots too earlier this evening.

[pektel]

To the top!

A coworker just brought in some regular cucumbers from his garden. Says his wife makes pickles with them, but more like the cicular slices, and peels them first. They are about 8-10" in length, maybe 2" diameter. Going to stop by the grocery store on the way home to pick up some items to make some of my own.

Anyone have any current recipes to add? Otherwise, I'm just going with the guideline of:

"All measurements are approximate - just keep the water and vinegar at 1:1 ratio and don’t go overboard on the salt."

Probably start with the recipe above, and tweak it once I try the first batch.

Also, I have a reverse osmosis system with a water spout at my kitchen sink. Think that will suffice instead of buying distilled water?

[T.G]

RO water is fine.

[pektel]

Originally Posted by T.G

RO water is fine.

Thanks! Is the above recipe still pretty close to what you use?

[T.G]

Originally Posted by pektel

Thanks! Is the above recipe still pretty close to what you use?

I'm doing more with fermented pickles these days, but yeah, that recipe still works. Rachel Ray has a good "quick pickle" recipe too, in which she calls for Persian cucumbers, but I'll use it with just plain old salad cucumbers cut thin (1/16" thickness) on a mandolin. Don't even need to peel the salad cucumbers when you cut them that thin.

Spices on pickles are pretty free form - some batches I'll add fennel, others, I've skipped the dill entirely and used cumin and fresh habanero peppers, sometimes more vinegar, sometimes I don't even bother with cucumbers and use something like tomatillos. Just have fun with it.

[pektel]

See, the fermented pickles is what I was originally looking at. In fact, this article has been brought to my attention twice recently, through a google search for "sour pickles" and just now for "fermented pickles".

http://www.wildfermentation.com/making-sour-pickles-2/

Gonna have to research this a little more too.

[T.G]

There are many different fermented recipes out there.

Few recommendations:
1) use a scale for the salt as 6TBS of some salt, say kosher salt, is not the same as 6TBS of pickling & canning salt. The kosher salt is much lighter and packs less densely. In the above example, the pickling & canning salt would be about twice as salty as the kosher salt. Sea salt falls somewhere in between. Alton Brown recommends 5.5oz of salt per gallon of water - so it doesn't matter what type of salt you use, you'll still end up with about the same salt content (percentage).

2) never, ever, ever use salt with iodine or anti-caking agents added. The iodine will screw with the lacto fermentation and anti-caking agents can end up introducing off flavors.

3) if you use dried dill weed / leaf then you are going to need to put it in a spice bag or a piece of cheese cloth tied with cooking twine because the stuff floats. Anything that floats on the surface of the fermenter is subject to growing mold, which you don't want. Some other spices like coriander, fennel and some mustard seeds, will float for a day or so before they become waterlogged and sink.

4) don't confuse kahm yeast with mold. Kahm yeast is a bright white filmy layer that forms on the surface of the brine. It's basically harmless. The worst it will do is cause a subtle off flavor if it is allowed to go unchecked for weeks. It's actually kind of hard to skim, but just get what you can once every 3-7 days, depends how fast it's forming. Not all batches will develop it. Mold looks like what we grew in petri dishes in high school biology class - that you want to get out.

5) use pickling cucumbers or gherkins, the smaller the better. Salad slicers don't ferment well, the rind is too thick and the area around the seeds ends up falling apart. Pickle the salad slicers in vinegar.

[pnoon]

Originally Posted by pektel

To the top!

Anyone have any current recipes to add?

http://67.222.135.200/vb/showthread.php?t=47825

[pektel]

Originally Posted by pnoon

http://67.222.135.200/vb/showthread.php?t=47825

Just checked out foodgawker. The sheer volume of recipes there is incredible. But for a beginner like me, I'm glad there was only one recipe you linked to in that thread.

What type of salt to you use in that recipe, Peter? Kosher?

[pektel]

Originally Posted by T.G

There are many different fermented recipes out there.

Few recommendations:
1) use a scale for the salt as 6TBS of some salt, say kosher salt, is not the same as 6TBS of pickling & canning salt. The kosher salt is much lighter and packs less densely. In the above example, the pickling & canning salt would be about twice as salty as the kosher salt. Sea salt falls somewhere in between. Alton Brown recommends 5.5oz of salt per gallon of water - so it doesn't matter what type of salt you use, you'll still end up with about the same salt content (percentage).

2) never, ever, ever use salt with iodine or anti-caking agents added. The iodine will screw with the lacto fermentation and anti-caking agents can end up introducing off flavors.

3) if you use dried dill weed / leaf then you are going to need to put it in a spice bag or a piece of cheese cloth tied with cooking twine because the stuff floats. Anything that floats on the surface of the fermenter is subject to growing mold, which you don't want. Some other spices like coriander, fennel and some mustard seeds, will float for a day or so before they become waterlogged and sink.

4) don't confuse kahm yeast with mold. Kahm yeast is a bright white filmy layer that forms on the surface of the brine. It's basically harmless. The worst it will do is cause a subtle off flavor if it is allowed to go unchecked for weeks. It's actually kind of hard to skim, but just get what you can once every 3-7 days, depends how fast it's forming. Not all batches will develop it. Mold looks like what we grew in petri dishes in high school biology class - that you want to get out.

5) use pickling cucumbers or gherkins, the smaller the better. Salad slicers don't ferment well, the rind is too thick and the area around the seeds ends up falling apart. Pickle the salad slicers in vinegar.

Wow, lots of great info/advice. Thanks! Now I need to buy a scale too. Off to walmart after work I guess. Well, I need to buy cheesecloth and cooking twine too.

Regarding the salt... I use Morton coarse grind kosher salt. Can't remember if that has additives in it or not, but I'll make sure before I use it.

I should really have an herb garden by now.