Sour Pickles

Wish these notes about “scum” were included in the main text! Also I’d recommend submerging pickles totally, otherwise exposed tops do mold.

4th batch. 4 cups of water and 3 Tbsp of salt. Too much water. Try 3 cups next time Used 1 tsp of seasoning and 2 cloves of garlic per container. Letting sit for 4 days this time b

There are surprisingly few good pickle recipes out there. I was at first skeptical of the simplicity of this recipe, but I’ve made several batches and the pickles are superb - rivaling the best Jewish delicatessen. My modifications: 3T salt (not 2) — must be pickling salt. 4 cloves garlic (2 per quart). Add 1t peppercorns (1/2t per quart) and 1/2t mustard seed (1/4t per quart).

A favorite recipe. I add garlic scapes, split from end to end, curled into each jar along with smashed garlic cloves. Also, some typical pickling spices, like pickling spice mix. I ferment in my cellar for 5 days, checking on day 4. Darker, cooler, slower but always successful. I cover with cheesecloth so nothing gets in jar that I did not add. Enjoy!

I doubled the salt, made our traditional recipe with sliced farm share puck E cute and refrigerated immediately.

Really easy and good. I did one batch with icing and one without (Since I was impatient) and the iced were far better. Made a big difference avoiding pouring in warm water.

I had never made pickles before making these. I left them an extra day or two and they turned out the perfect garlic dill. I used cucumbers I grew this summer. Very happy!

I've made maybe two dozen batches of these. I've gotten pretty loose about it and the results have been excellent. Recently, I made a Sichuan style pickle I learned in Carolyn Phillips' recent cookbook. You make what is called old salt water and add spices to it. Well, once those were done, there was no reason to toss the salty water, so I mixed it with the prepared salt water for these pickles. Now it seems I've um... recycled the brine a couple times and these taste better each batch.

I've read to only use UNwaxed cucumbers. But I can't find them anywhere. Must they be unwaxed, or can I just buy the Kirby cucumbers from my supermarket?

Made these, and bubbled/clouded as expected. However, when transferring to smaller jars for storing, noticed some pickles toward bottom of original fermenting jar had soft spots that were sort of turquoise-ish/green. What does that mean? I discarded those, but are rest safe to eat? They smell fine, no dots of mold

Too fussy and misses important points: 2T/half, 3T/full sours non-iodized table salt/qt. Convert for Kosher-it matters Just let it dissolve, no heat/ice needed Add bay, grape or black tea leaves for crunchy pickles Keep cukes submerged-above brine will mold Kahm yeast (stringy) is not harmful-remove and proceed Colored mold (fuzzy) is bad-discard. Some folks are OK w/white mold. I'm not. Don't fuss with them for the first few days-don't introduce air/bacteria Cloudy brine and sediment is OK

So if white fuzzy mold appears on the surface after 3 days are they bad or do you skim it off the top and eat them?

Made with organic Kirby cukes, dill flowers, split garlic scapes, peppercorns, small bay leaf, whole allspice and mustard seed. Placed, covered with gauze, in cool cellar. Refrigerated after 48 hours after tasting as bubbles and clouding began. Crispest and freshest pickles we’ve ever had but the cukes were picked same day.

This is my go-to recipe for fresh pickles. I’ve also used “pickling mix” and left the seeds in the hot pepper for more spicy brine.