Pickling

[Eddie]

Stuff is starting to come in from the gardens so tonight we started a run of pickles.

We had about 35 pounds of cucumbers so first we washed them.

Then we split them up and started cutting. I made spears.

While the wife made regular slices.

And sandwich slices.

Then it was time to get out the lime to make them crispy. We also needed a beverage after all that hard work.

We added the powdered lime to the pickles, 5 cups total divided between two batches.

Then we added water and stirred up the lime.

Now they have to sit over night. Tomorrow we will rinse off the lime and let them soak in some ice water and then turn some into sweet pickles and others into dills.

 

[gage]

Neat !
Thank you for the info and photos!
How many cucumbers plants do you have?
What variety did you plant?

Next season I will have to have more plants.
The cucumbers are getting eaten too fast to become pickles.

 

[Eddie]

Neat !
Thank you for the info and photos!
How many cucumbers plants do you have?
What variety did you plant?

Next season I will have to have more plants.
The cucumbers are getting eaten too fast to become pickles.

I don't know the variety. We picked ours up as "distressed plants" at Walmart. They were only distressed because no one was watering them. Others came from my dad, cousin and father in law. We'll pickle them all up and then share them back out.

 

[RachelMarie]

AWESOME share! I'm thinking seriously about doing this for the first time this year!

 

[Eddie]

Pickling Part Two

This afternoon when I got home from work we drained off the limewater.

Note some of the clumps of undissolved lime on the pickles. Next we rinsed them thoroughly in order to get rid of all the lime. At this stage the pickles are almost brittle from their imersion in the lime and we had to be careful not to break them. Note my wife's hands on my pickle!

Once the pickles were all rinsed of lime we put them in clean water and added ice.

So as of right now they are soaking in ice water and will remain so for about three hours. Later on tonight we plan on finishing up.

 

[Eddie]

Finishing Up

While the pickles were still soaking in icewater we got the other stuff set up. We needed sugar, white vinegar, measuring cups, stirring spoons, lids, rings and jars. We sterilized the jars by running them through the dishwasher. For this batch we used "store boughten" spices.

When mixed with vinegar and water the spices took on a yellow orange color.

Lids were placed in a pot at a low boil.

When the pickles had spent enough time in the ice water we started packing them. Yes, I was a pickle packer. Packing means fitting as many as possible in a jar. After they are packed you wait a few minutes and then dump out the excess water that has run off the pickles into the bottom of the jar.

Once it is ready the solution is ladeled over the packed pickles. The plastic funnel really comes in handy although if you are on a budget you can make one out of a plastic bottle.

The jar is filled to about a half inch from the top. Then you take a lid out of the hot water, place it on the jar and screw it down lightly with a ring.

The ring holds the lid in place while the jars are placed into a hot water bath. The boiling water should come to just below the ring. The jars boil for about ten minutes and then you remove them and screw the rings down tight.

As the solution cools the contraction of the liquid in the jar will seal the lid with an audible "ping!". The instructions will say that the pickles are ready to eat within 24 hours but in my experience you will get the best flavor by waiting 3 to 4 weeks.

Pickling is a good basic skill for preserving food and it is the intro to learning about canning.

 

[RelicHound]

PICKLES!!!

You are my new hero

 

[gohard43]

Sweet! Very cool. This is something that I would like to try sometime, seems pretty easy and I bet there freakin delicious !!

 

[Benny]

PICKLES!!!

You are my new hero

You've got a chubby right now, don't you?