Advice: Making traditional pickles

[Aerows]

We had a YARD FULL of cucumbers last year, and my father decided to ask my aunt. Well, they messed up the recipe, and between the three of us, absolutely DESTROYED what was a bumper crop of cucumbers.

I'll be honest. I just let my father go. He tends to go off on things, as does my narrow-minded aunt.

It turns out that neither of them had a clue how to pickle despite having "memories" of what my grandmother did. Mind you, I learned *from* my mother's mother how to cook. She didn't show me how to pickle.

Now, I'm stuck with another crop, and people turning a blind eye to it, pretending they didn't destroy the pickling before.

From what I can surmise, they just threw them in the jars with salt and vinegar.

I suspect they have to be boiled first in saline(cucumbers), but no one listened to me last year.

[Denninmi]

1. You need to be more specific -- what kind of pickles do you want?

There are a lot of different methods, techniques, and recipes. It all depends on what you're looking for -- dills, sweets, bread and butter, something else? Do you want a "quick" pickle that's in the jars in a matter of hours, or something naturally fermented that will take weeks or more to pickle?

Let us know, and it will give us something to go on.

[Aerows]

2. Oh, sorry

I was interested in making dills. Do you need to boil them beforehand?

I've pickled carrots. They are my favorite snack.

This particular batch came out so salty your nose would dry up before they made it to your mouth. I gave up on that batch ( and wasn't involved in it's making, either ).

This batch, I'd like to make dill, but a bread and butter recipe would be awesome, as well.

[grasswire]

4. do you have canning jars, lids, seals?

whatcha got?

dill?

vinegar?

other stuff? (onions, maybe, and/or bell peppers?)

[Aerows]

7. I do

I have Ball jars and sealing wax. I have dill, onion, a deep pot to boil water in.

Bell Peppers are the one thing I despise deeply. I'll choose home grown chilis or Scotch Bonnets.

Can you work with that?

[grasswire]

3. is there a reason to avoid using a real recipe?

A recipe is better than a vague memory. And a really bad job on cucumbers can turn into botulism -- possibly kill ya.

No, they don't have to be boiled in saline.

[Aerows]

5. I don't have one

I just have a bunch of cucumbers and last years harvest was probably headed into illness territory, but I threw them out before they got there.

I know from my previous experiences with canning to see the signs of botulism - this wasn't it. This was just foul tasting and probably poisonous in a different way, if you were bold enough to eat them.

EDIT: Note, nobody with any expertise has a recipe, thus last years disaster. *I*'m trying to do something with them this year, but the vague notions of what "our momma did" certainly didn't work last year LOL.

That's why I'm asking.

[grasswire]

6. are the cukes big, or little? n/t

[Aerows]

8. Picked them at about 3/4in diameter

They are about 7/8 foot in length, roughly.

I figured I could half them then quarter them.

[Retrograde]

10. here's one to start with

This is a basic recipe for a brined pickle. It doesn't require boiling, but you do have to check on them regularly. I've done quick pickles by covering cukes with a hot vinegar solution, but the taste is very different, vinegary as it were, and they have to be kept refrigerated.

[surrealAmerican]

9. They would not ordinarily need to be cooked first.

You should probably search online for a recipe, but generally, they don't even need to be canned. The pickling preserves them if you keep them completely submerged in seasoned brine.

[csziggy]

11. Here is the Ohio State Extension Office's recipe for fermenting dill pickles

http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/5000/pdf/5342.pdf

Fermentation might be the key to making old fashioned dill pickles.

And here is the Minnesota version: http://www1.extension.umn.edu/food-safety/preserving/vegetables-herbs/dill-pickle-recipe/

I prefer using canning recipes from the Cooperative Extension Services or from Ball - but the Ball recipe calls for their seasoning/brining product, rather than actually giving all the ingredients. But here is the link, if you want to look for their product: http://www.freshpreserving.com/recipes.aspx

[grasswire]

12. fermenting can be kind of tricky though

I've had some jars of fermented pickles go bad. A vinegar brine might be better for a starter, and surely there must be many recipes on the net for dill pickles in brine. I have a lot of the old Ball canning books from 30-40 years ago but am too lazy to copy a recipe here right now.

[kestrel91316]

13. Get yourself a copy of The Joy of Pickling, and you will never have to go through this again.

Fresh pickles, fermented pickles, every vegetable and fruit you can imagine, and also meats, fish, and eggs.

I couldn't live without my copy.

[Warpy]

14. Google is your friend

and there are very specific instructions out there for the amount of salt, vinegar, water, pickling spices, garlic, and whatever else you want to use to flavor your pickles. If you try to fly blind, you run the risk of duplicating last year's disaster.

I haven't done it for a number of years, but I didn't cook the cukes, it makes them mushy. I'd pack the jars with the cut or whole cukes and pour in the boiling vinegar, water, pickling spice, and pickling salt. I do remember that when I could find grape leaves, I'd toss one into each jar to keep the pickles crisper. Then cover the jars and put them into the hot water bath and process them for however long your recipe and the size of your jars call for. You can reprocess any you have if the lids don't seat properly. They'll last all winter.

There are also cold pack pickles and fermented pickles, each really good but more perishable.