When making pickles, use only commercially produced 5 percent acidity cider or white vinegar. Save the homemade or flavored vinegars for things like salads. Can these homemade vinegars be used to make pickles? I have been making some wonderfully flavored vinegars. However, to make a safe product, the jar and lid must be sterilized, only pure 5 percent acidity vinegar used, and the product must be stored in the refrigerator. Are they safe?Ĭucumbers, hot peppers, hard-cooked eggs, and horseradish can be put in sterilized jars, covered with hot vinegar, and stored in the refrigerator. My neighbor gave me some pickles he made by just pouring vinegar over fresh cucumbers. Start counting processing time as soon as the water begins to boil. Cover the canner and bring the water to a boil. The water should be deep enough to cover the jars by at least 1 inch. If no time is given, process the product for at least 10 minutes.Ĭarefully place the filled jars onto a rack in the canner containing hot water. Process the pickled products for the length of time specified in the recipe. Processing is necessary for all pickles and relishes to destroy the yeasts, molds, and bacteria that may cause the product to spoil and inactivate enzymes that could affect color, flavor, and texture of the pickled product. My favorite pickle recipe is from my grandmother and does not call for a boiling water bath process. Do not use aluminum, copper, brass, galvanized, or iron containers for fermenting pickles or sauerkraut. Another option is to line a questionable container with several thicknesses of food-grade plastic bags. If you’re not sure if a plastic container is safe for food, read its label or contact its manufacturer. Pickles and sauerkraut can be fermented in large stoneware crocks, large glass jars, or food-grade plastic containers. Can I ferment pickles in a new plastic garbage can? Pour off the top portion and use it in the pickling solution. If soft water is not available, boil the hard water and let it sit undisturbed overnight. Sometimes the fillers (anti-caking agents) in regular table salt may cause slight cloudiness, so always use pickling salt. If these signs are absent, the pickles are safe to eat. Check the pickles for signs of off-odors and mushiness of the pickles.
In nonfermented pickles (fresh pack), cloudiness might indicate spoilage. If a noncloudy appearance is desired, a fresh brine can be used to pack the pickles when they are ready for processing. While fermenting pickles, the brine might become cloudy due to lactic acid bacteria growth during the fermentation period. Immature bulbs should be cured two to four weeks at 70 ° F. Or, the garlic may naturally have more bluish pigment, and it is more evident after pickling. This reaction may be due to iron, tin, or aluminum in your cooking pot, water, or water pipes reacting with the garlic’s pigments. Why did the garlic cloves in my pickles turn green or bluish-green? However, if you remove the blossom end of the cucumbers (the source of undesirable enzymes), you don’t need to add grape leaves. Grape leaves contain a substance that inhibits enzymes that make pickles soft. I have an old recipe that calls for adding a grape leaf to each jar of pickles. The skins on burpless cucumbers may be tough. However, if smaller burpless cucumbers (those with small seed) are used, they may be suitable for making fresh pack pickles. This is because, at their normal mature size, they produce an enzyme that causes the pickles to soften during fermentation. Can I use burpless cucumbers for pickling?īurpless cucumbers are not recommended for use in fermented pickles.
What can I substitute?įor each quart, try 3 heads of fresh dill or 1 to 2 tablespoons dill seed (dill weed = 2 tablespoons). I don’t have the type of dill listed in my recipe. If yeast growth is evident, discard the pickles. However, yeast growth could also cause this. Why did the liquid in my dill pickles turn pink?
If the pickling solution has been used, it can be stored in the refrigerator and reused in a day or two for barbecue sauce, coleslaw dressing or a marinade. If the pickling solution is fresh and has not been used to make pickles, cover it and store it in the refrigerator for later use. When making quick process pickles, can I store any leftover pickling solution for future use? Flake salt varies in density and is not recommended for pickling. Most recipes call for granulated pickling or canning salt. Rebecca Baxley, ©2020, Clemson University Can I use flaked salt for pickling?