Updates and Adventures in Pickling

The garden is getting really huge!  I'm harvesting cucumbers, okra, and three kinds of squash daily.  Peppers, speckled limas, and peas are showing up and all the tomato plants have yellow blossoms so they should be coming soon.  I have to keep reminding myself that I planted a little later this year because I keep thinking everything is taking forever.  I've been making pickles every night and trying to be patient.  Here are some photos of how things are going!

Cucumbers 

 Yellow Crookneck, Zucchini, and Pattypan Squashes

 Swiss Chard

 Tall Telephone Peas

 Speckled Calico Lima Beans

 Several Varieties of Tomatoes

 Clemson and Red Burgundy Okra

 Beets

 Thai Chilis (You can see one to the left of my pinky.)

 Green Bell Peppers

 Hot Banana Peppers

 Jalapenos

Basil

Various pickles: Garlic dill slices and spears, swiss chard and okra 

(The brine is pink due to the color of the chard and burgundy okra.)

Pickles, Round Two

So the first batch of half sour pickles I posted about last week turned out waaaaaay too salty to be consumable.  The spice mixture was perfect, but the ratio of salt to water was just not right.  I consulted this website which contains excerpts from this book and my second attempt turned out perfectly.  

I ended up leaving them in the brine for a total of about 63 hours before sampling them and decided to take them out because the flavor was just as I like it: mild, garlicky, and still containing hints of cucumber.  I think the new pickling crock my husband bought me for my anniversary present may have also helped as it is better than using a plastic bucket.  Here is the final recipe I will now be using to make half sours:

Half Sour Pickles

Thoroughly wash cucumbers and slice 1/8 inch from the blossom end.  While preparing the rest of the ingredients, soak cucumbers in icy water for ~20 minutes to crisp up.

Combine salt and water in a saucepan in bring to a boil to make brine.  Use 2 Tablespoons salt to every 4 cups water, depending on how much brine is needed to completely cover the amount of cucumbers being used.

Grind the following spice mixture until fragrant in a mortar and pestle:

1/3 teaspoons whole coriander seeds

1/3 teaspoons brown mustard seeds
2 whole allspice
1/3 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
1/3 teaspoons black pepper corns
1/2 teaspoons dill seeds
2 or 3 pieces broken dried bay leaf

Add to the pickling crock/container being used:

4 – 6 cloves garlic

spice mixture above

cucumbers (This recipe is suitable for 6-8 pickling cucumbers.  Using more may require adding more spices or garlic.)

Pour brine over cucumbers and spice mixture and allow to settle.  Use a freshly washed dinner plate or food grade plastic lid and 1-2 sanitized jars filled with water placed on top of cucumbers to hold them under the brine.  Cover the crock/container with cheesecloth. Check the brine daily and remove any scum that has formed on the surface with a spoon. The time required for pickles to attain the desired flavor will vary and can be determined by sampling after 48 hours.

Once desired flavor has been reached, remove pickles from brine using tongs.  Pickles can be placed in a sanitized jar if you plan on canning them, or a container suitable for refrigerator storage if you plan on eating them in the near future.  

Heating and straining the brine through paper coffee filters is said to reduce cloudiness (though I didn't find this to be successful).  This step can be skipped if this is not a concern. Pour brine over the pickles and immediately place in refrigerator or process to seal.  

Pickles, Round One

This week my cucumber vines finally started producing.  Only five were ready (and I couldn't resist eating one), so I decided to try a little experiment with a tiny batch of counter top fermented half sour pickles to see how things go.  

Half sours have been one of my favorite types of pickle ever since I ate them in a deli in New York City several years ago.  Unfortunately, they are pretty scarce and expensive here in the south.  I am hoping if this batch goes well, I can produce these on a larger scale and have a supply year round.

To make these, I used the combination of spices and steps suggested by Tommy J's Kitchen.  Last summer I tried this same method with cucumber slices.  The pickles came out ok, but tasted a little bitter.  I am hoping that whole cucumbers will work better.  I remembered this spice mixture was just about spot on, so I decided to stick with it.

While I was grinding the spices and letting the salt dissolve in the water to make the brine, I let the cucumbers soak in icy water to crisp up.  Then I sliced a tiny bit off the blossom end of the cucumber because this is supposed to eliminate the enzymes that cause pickles to become mushy.

Once the brine was ready, I poured the it over the cucumbers in a food grade plastic bucket.

In order to keep the cucumbers under the brine at all times, they have to be weighted down. A lot of recipes suggest using a dinner plate, but I had to use a food grade plastic lid because a plate wouldn't fit in my bucket.  I placed a sanitized jar filled halfway with water on top of the lid to hold the cucumbers down.

I covered the whole contraption with cheesecloth and placed it in a cool, dry area of our kitchen counter. So far, I haven't had to remove any scum (naturally forming bacteria) from the surface, but continue to check the bucket a few times a day.  I will leave these for 72 hours before testing the results.  Hopefully they will turn out well!