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Fri 13 Jan, 2017 07:52 pm
Hi everyone.
To get straight to the point, I'm an amateur at pickling who just put up his first batch, using pickling cukes purchased from a local supermarket. I followed a recipe for New York Sour Pickles from "The Joy Of Pickling" by Linda Ziedrich. I followed the recipe exactly, right down to keeping them at the right temp (between 64 and 74 degrees), and I used a fermentation kit with glass jars, fermentation weights, and air locks that my cousin had given me. The recipe said the pickles would be olive green and ready to eat within 2 weeks, but that wasn't the case. I let them go longer (and I guess I forgot about them), finally trying one after 8 weeks. Now, the color still wasn't right (like it wasn't fermented enough), but I tasted one, and it was ok, still crunchy. not soft. I was satisfied, but felt I could do better.
Any idea what went wrong/advice for next time? Help would be appreciated.
@Dave9939,
When I've done these I've just used a crock and a weighted plate to keep them submerged. The recipe you used looks fine. Next time, try to get fresh cukes from a farmer's market. What I
have noticed is that different batches yield slightly different results. Eight weeks is not too long — people used to keep these all winter in a cool cellar.
Our local deli offers "new" or "old" pickles. The new are light colored.
@PUNKEY,
I'm more a fan of the "old" style, I guess. Fresh/refrigerator brands like Claussen, or Ba Tampte, just don't do it for me.
@hightor,
I actually did think about using a crock pot to make pickles, but I don't want the thing to smell like pickles for the foreseeable future no matter how hard I try to scrub it out.
I checked the local farm stands and farmers markets during the warmer whether, but nobody seemed to have pickling cukes. I was surprised I finally found them when I did, so I grabbed them up.
@Dave9939,
You can buy slow cooker liners, BTW.
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