Any Advice on Pickling Cucumbers?

[NoTrespassing]

Hey All,

My wife and I are going to start pickling a couple batches of cucumbers today. This will be our first attempt. We're borrowing a couple of 5 gallon crocks from my mother. She hasn't pickled in a long time and has had some success and some failures in the past. She gave us a couple of recipes for sweet pickles that we're going to try.

Does anyone have any secrets to pickling they'd like to share?

We also plan on canning beets and tomatoes later in the season.

Thanks,

Kevin & Jena

 

[sam5570]

the biggest problem we have had is cooking them to long. you don't know you have done it till you open them later and there mushey.

 

[Clint S]

I tried last year and goofed up bit and added too much salt to the mix. My 95 year old grandmother tried to tell me her recipe and she got cups and quarts mixed up. Here is hers. 1 Qt. Vinegar. 3 Qt痴 water. 1 C Salt. (This recipe is solution for 6 or 7 quarts.
1 pinch of alum (that痴 what grandma said.) but it equates to about 1/8 tsp. of alum. At least one dill flower head and a bunch of stems and pieces. It looks like weeds in there but it痴 okay.
Boil up the brine in one pot and put the jars in the canner with just a little water in it and let the steam come up around them and get them hot. Fill the hot jars with the brine and hand tight the lid. That's it, do not process it makes the pickles soft. The jars will seal.

You can add garlic, or other spice, some people add a grape leaf too

 

[randy41]

you could ferment them instead of adding vinegar. plenty of info on the web about this.

 

[stuckmotor]

I recommend you watch the episode of, The Andy Griffith Show, called the pickle story. It probably won't help your pickles but, it's a lot of fun.

 

[NoTrespassing]

I've seen that episode many times. It's a classic. I hope we have better luck than Aunt Bea.

Kevin

 

[stuckmotor]

If the pickles don't turn out, you might have to implement, Operation Pickle Switch.

 

[Depmandog]

Not sure how she makes them, but my "pickle lady" makes a sweet / hot pickle that is to die for. I usually order about 10 quarts at a time. I think I am on my last quart....time to put in my order - YUM. Thanks for posting!!

 

[RSKY]

Go to Wal-Mart and get a bag of Mrs Wages Pickling Lime. Follow the directions on the bag and you will have great sweet lime pickles. We have put up twenty two quarts and two pints in three fixings.

For hot pickles, on the last step boil hot peppers in vinegar and put a cup of the juice and one pepper in each jar as you fill it with pickles.

Just be sure to ALWAYS wipe the lip of the jar before putting the lid on and leave at least a half inch of air space between the liquid and lid.

 

[dmccarty]

Go to Wal-Mart and get a bag of Mrs Wages Pickling Lime. Follow the directions on the bag and you will have great sweet lime pickles.

Yes, use the lime since it makes the cukes crisp.

There are plenty of recipes on the internet, Canning Recipes | Home Canning Recipes | Ball Jars and what I have used, National Center for Home Food Preservation. Years ago, I downloaded the instructions, printed them out and put them in a binder.

Later,
Dan

 

[RSKY]

Yes, the lime and the 2+ hours in ice water make them crispy.

 

[NoTrespassing]

I saw the pickling lime in Walmart today before I read all the posts recommending it. Since it wasn't called for in any of the recipes I have I didn't pick any up. I was under the impression it was kind of a shortcut to a crispy pickle rather than spending 10-14 days processing. Maybe I'm wrong. Anyway, I looked online and found the information below.

Pickling Lime

I think we're going to try it without the lime the first time and see what we get. I still appreciate the input!



Definition:
A white powder used in older pickle recipes to add crispness. It works by introducing calcium to the pectin of the food to be pickled.

Pickling lime is alkaline, and must be washed off completely before the food is placed in vinegar. Failure to do so could result in a less acidic pickling solution, and create an environment where bacteria are able to thrive. Botulism cases have been linked to this problem; and for this reason, the use of pickling lime is no longer recommended.

Also Known As: calcium hydroxide, slaked lime

 

[jymbee]

I recommend you watch the episode of, The Andy Griffith Show, called the pickle story. It probably won't help your pickles but, it's a lot of fun.

A classic indeed!

 

[NHmitch]

We use Ball pickle crisp and it works very well. It does not have to be washed off and it is the same ingredient they use in commercial pickles.

 

[RSKY]

We had a few cucumbers in the fridge we picked Thursday and picked four pounds yesterday morning which gave us the seven pounds necessary for a 'fixin'. We canned them before we went to bed.

We start by washing and scrubing each cucumber twice to be sure all dirt is removed then cut them up and put them in the lime solution for a couple hours or more. We used the blue speckled enameled pots for this. DO NOT USE ALUMINUM! Says that in the instructions and it will ruin the pot and the pickles. They are removed from the lime solution and washed THREE TIMES to remove all the lime. This is the back hurting step standing over the sink washing and rewashing the sliced cucumbers.

Next the cucumbers are put in the sink or a pot and covered with ice. We usually have half gallon milk jugs frozen that we place in the sink then empty the icemaker on top of the cucumbers. They must stay in this at least two hours.

A solution of vinegar and sugar is mixed up and heated to make sure all the sugar dissolves. We do this after putting the cucumber slices in the ice so it will have time to cool. The cucumber slices are removed from the ice water and placed in this solution for five to six hours. A plate is placed in the pot with a jar or something on it to push all the cucumbers down under the solution. After the six hours the stove is turned on, the cucumbers boil for at least thirty five minutes. We have the clean jars ready, lids heating in a small pot of water, rings laid out, funnel, wiping rag, and ladle ready. When the timer goes off we do a quick assembly line and have five to eight quarts filled and sealed within ten to fifteen minutes. The lids start popping a few minutes after we finish and all will seal within thirty minutes or so.

Be sure to leave plenty of space at the top, at least a half inch, or the jars won't seal. Also be sure to wipe the rim of the jar before placing the lid on it. If you don't do this the jar may seal but there will be a small pathway of organic material trapped under the lid and bacteria can invade the jar thru this.

We also do refrigerator pickles which only keep as long as anything else keeps in the fridge.

We will do one or two 'fixins' a year in pint jars that we give away. I have one brother in law that will eat a pint in one meal and I used to take a quart to a young black lady at work every couple of weeks. She would bring the empty jar back the next day. She, her husband and two young sons would eat the quart in about twelve hours.

 

[creekbend]

It appears that the other members have provided much info. I can only add this. You are probably already aware of this, but please be sure to use NEW lids only. You can use previous used rings, but I use NEW lids each and ever time. Best wishes.

 

[jymbee]

What kind of cukes are you using?

Question for all you picklers: Do you typically grow & use a pickler variety of cuke? I always plant a row of picklers along with all the "slicers" but the pickle yield is apt to exceed my ambition to pickle 'em all. As a result, we give away buckets of them each season. You'd think I'd learn, but as the snow's melting in the Sprint it's hard to imagine ever having an over abundance of any fresh veggies... :licking:

 

[MossRoad]

I seem to see the pickles when they're too small and say to myself, "I'll pick those this weekend." I go out this weekend and they are the size of footballs! I never seem to get them at the right size, so if I want to do pickles, I buy a bushel from the farm store now. :laughing:

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Don't forget to nip the blossom end off the pickle. The decayed blossom decayed because it contains enzymes that will turn your pickles to mush. You can scrub the blossom end hard if you don't want to cut the pickle.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Approximately 75 cucumbers 3 to 5 inches long. Small cukes are the best.
Cut into 3/4 to 1 inch sections
Place in crock and pour 2 cups salt and 1 gallon boiling water over them
Let stand one week, skimming daily if necessary.
Day 8: drain well, sprinkle on 1 tablespoon powdered alum. Pour on 1 gallon fresh boiling water. Let stand 24 hours.
Day 9: Drain and cover with 1 gallon boiling water. Let stand 24 hours. (These steps remove excess salt.)
Day 10: Drain and pour on a boiling hot mixture of 5 pints vinegar, 6 cups sugar, 1/2 oz celery seed, 1 oz. stick cinnamon
For the next 3 days, drain, reheat the liquid, add a cup of sugar and pour over the pickles while hot.
Pickles can be left in the crock in a cool place, or on the last day place the pickles in jars, cover with boiling mix, and water bath pints 15 minutes, quarts 20 minutes.
Yield about 12 pints.