Making Homemade Pickles

TYPES OF PICKLES:

* Fresh-pack (or quick process) are cured for several hours in a vinegar solution or are immediately combined with hot vinegar, spices, and seasonings. Examples include dills, bread-and-butter and beets. Quick Process is what these instructions (below on this page) show.

* Fermented pickles are vegetables soaked in a brine solution for 4 to 6 weeks. During this time, lactic acid bacteria, naturally present on the surface of vegetables, grows. Other microbes are inhibited by salt. The color of the vegetables changes from bright green to olive/yellow-green, and the white interior becomes translucent. Examples include dill and sauerkraut.

* Refrigerated dills are cucumbers marinated for 1 day to 1 week in a salt and spice brine (in the fridge) and then stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 months. No canning is required!

* Fruit pickles are whole or sliced fruit simmered in a spicy, sweet-sour syrup. Examples include spiced peaches and crabapples.

* Relishes are made from chopped fruits or vegetables that are cooked to a desired consistency in a spicy vinegar solution. Examples include corn relish and horseradish.



INGREDIENTS AND EQUIPMENT:

* Cucumbers - fresh, crisp - not wilted, soft or overripe!

* Quick Process Pickling mix: A packet will make about a dozen pint jars.

* Clear vinegar - 4 cups of 5% vinegar, apple cider vinegar works well.

* Jar grabber (to pick up the hot jars)

* Lid lifter (has a magnet to pick the lids out of the boiling water where you sterilize them.

* Jar funnel

* 1 large pot; teflon lined, glass or ceramic.

* Large spoons and ladles

* 1 Canner (a huge pot to sterilize the jars after filling.

* Pint canning jars. Be sure to get wide mouth jars to fit the pickles in! Pint size works best!

* Lids - thin, flat, round metal lids with a gum binder that seals them against the top of the jar. They may only be used once.

* Rings - metal bands that secure the lids to the jars. They may be reused many times.

DIRECTIONS:

STEP 1: Selecting the cucumbers

It's fun to go pick your own and you can obviously get better quality cucumbers!

If growing your own cucumbers, be sure to grow the varieties that are labeled "pickling cucumbers" - they will be much more crisp!

For cucumber pickles, use cucumbers intended for pickling that are no more then 2 inches in diameter. Start with crisp raw vegetable varieties to get crisp pickled vegetables.

The most important factor in getting crisp pickled vegetables is to start with fresh, just-picked vegetables. Overripe cucumbers make mushy pickles. Vegetables become soft as their pectin structure changes due to microbial activity, excess heat or improper handling. As each day passes, vegetables lose crispness. Once a vegetable is soft it cannot be made firm again.

STEP 2: How many cucumbers?

It takes about 3 or 4 cucumbers to fill a pint jar. Each cucumber is about 4 - 5 inches long and you will cut off the ends so they will fit with ¼-inch to spare.

STEP 3: Wash and cut the vegetables!

Wash the fruit in plain cold water.

You will need to cut the ends off (about ¼-inch, the blossom harbors microbes that can cause softening. ) and then slice them lengthwise if you like spears.

You can also leave them whole or cut them cross-wise for bread-and-butter.

Set them aside for use in step 7.

STEP 4: Get the jars and lids sterilizing

The dishwasher is fine for the jars; especially if it has a "sterilize" cycle. I get that going while I'm preparing everything else, so it's done by the time I'm ready to fill the jars. If you don't have a dishwasher, submerge the jars in a large pot (the canner itself) of water and bring it to a boil.

Be sure to let it go through the rinse cycle to get rid of any soap!

Get the canner heating up

Fill the canner about 1/2 full of water and start it heating (with the lid on).

Start the water for the lids

Put the lids into the small pot of boiling water for at least several minutes. Note: everything gets sterilized in the water bath (step 7) anyway, so this just helps to ensure there is no spoilage later!)



STEP 5: Mix the vinegar with the pickling mix and bring to a near boil

OK, you can make your own mix from spices, salt, dill, etc.; but it is MUCH more time-consuming, complicated, and prone to problems. This method produces pickles which are just as crisp - as long as you pick very firm cucumbers. It also helps to add 2 grape leaves to every jar (I kid you not, they have something in them that makes the pickles crunchier).

STEP 6: Heat the mix

Bring the mix and vinegar to a near-boil - just simmering! The directions on the packet will tell you how much vinegar to add, it's usually about 4 cups

Be sure to use a NON-metal pot - or a coated metal (teflon, silverstone, enamel, etc.) without breaks in the coating. the metal reacts with the vinegar and makes the pickle solution turn cloudy.

STEP 7: Fill the jars with cucumbers and put the lid and rings on

Pack the raw cucumbers from step 3, whole or slices in and pour the simmering pickle mix liquid over them. Fill them to within ¼-inch of the top, seat the lid and hand-tighten the ring around them.

STEP 8: Boil the jars in the canner

Put them in the canner and keep them covered with at least 1 inch of water. Keep the water boiling. Boil them for 10 minutes (or as directed by the instructions in the mix, or with your canner). Remember to adjust for altitudes and larger jars!

Note: some mixes, such as the Ball Kosher Dill mix call for only boiling for 5 minutes. Generally, the longer you process the jars, the more mushy (less crisp) the pickles will be.

STEP 9: Done

Lift the jars out of the water and let them cool without touching or bumping them in a draft-free place (usually takes overnight). You can then remove the rings if you like.

Once the jars are cool, you can check that they are sealed verifying that the lid has been sucked down. Just press in the center, gently, with your finger. If it pops up and down (often making a popping sound), it is not sealed. If you put the jar in the refrigerator right away, you can still use it. Some people replace the lid and reprocess the jar, then that's a bit iffy. If you heat the contents back up, re-jar them (with a new lid) and the full time in the canner, it's usually ok.

When can you start eating? Well, it takes some time for the seasonings to be absorbed into the pickles. That's at least 24 hours, but for best flavor wait 2 weeks!

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