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Thursday, August 6, 2015

Pickle Test.

The verdict is in.  The half sour pickles are....good!  I think my cukes were a little large, but that just means more pickle!  This was definitely a keeper recipe.  So, Joy, for your pickle-making pleasure, here's the recipe:

Adapted from Brooklyn Farm Girl

Half Sour Pickles
(makes 2 quarts)

Enough kirby cucumbers to squeeze into two quart jars
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp black peppercorns
Fistful of dill (I had heads - large ones.  I used one per jar)
3 bay leaves
6 cloves of garlic minced
1/4 cup sea salt
6 cups water
Additional whole coriander seeds and peppercorns to add on top
(Ball's Pickle Crisp Granules if you have them)

Wash your cukes and squeeze them into the jars.  Dissolve salt in water.  Grind the dry spices in a mortar and pestle (or put them in a plastic zip bag and use your rolling pin on them).  Put the minced garlic in your jars, then the ground spices, then pour the salt water mixture over top.  Push in your dill and sprinkle additional whole spices on top.  (If you're using the Pickle Crisp, now's the time to sprinkle 1/4 tsp on top of each jar.)  Make sure your cukes are completely covered in water and then put lids on the jars.  I gently shook my jars to distribute the spices.  Put them in the fridge and let them rest for at least 4 days before eating. 
 
After five days, mine were nice and crisp, but not as flavorful as I like.  So I am leaving mine in for another five days before trying them again.
 

8 comments:

Michelle said...

These sound good! I'm going to try this recipe with my next harvest of cucumbers. I also need to try a slice out of my first batch from this year, maybe this weekend. This is the first time I've tried pickling slices (my cukes got too big).

Now, a question. The last time I made "countertop dills" (lacto-fermented), I canned them when they got to the stage I wanted to keep them stable. Do you just keep yours in the frig? I only have so much room, and want pickles to use throughout the year.

Susan said...

Michelle - yes, they have to be refrigerated. That's the only drawback. I have a great recipe for bread and butter pickles, but nothing I like for dills except this.

Unknown said...

I did this similar to yours. I did a 10 day ferment, and they calm done after they sit in the fridge a bit... And if you can them you kill the probiotics...

Michelle said...

I'd rather have shelf-stable homemade pickles with dead probiotics than the store-bought stuff!

Mama Pea said...

I do love making pickles. Have been experimenting with fermented ones in the past couple of years but have yet to come up with a really, really good one. My pickling cukes on the vines are about gherkin size, but we need rain and some is expected tonight/tomorrow which I know will make them size up in a hurry. Still have some quarts of my dills left but am going to make my bread and butter pickles first 'cause I'm plum out of them! Hubby doesn't like anything but dills but my daughter and I are big fans of the bread and butters.

Joy said...

Thanks so much, Susan - can't wait to make them!

Michelle said...

Um 1/4 WHAT sea salt? Standing here ready to make them and saw the omission!

Susan said...

CUP!