I Need To Know How To Make Pickles!

[bgaviator]

It's frustrating. I have gone through batches upon batches of kirby cucumbers trying to make my own pickles, and can never get the results I want. My favorite kind of pickles are the kind you'll get in delis. They are a little sour but you can still barely taste the cucumber a little. Basically like Claussen's pickles. I guess these are called half-sours maybe? Anyways, I had found a recipe for half sour pickles where you basically just took salt and water, with some dill and garlic and you let the pickles ferment. Well, I tried this. I let them ferment outside the fridge for I forget how many days or weeks....then I transfered the jar to the fridge for awhile. First off, the water that the pickles were in looked really funky. It was cloudy! After opening the jar, it smelled ok, but I was skeptical. I ate one of the pickles and had to spit it out. It tasted like complete ass! I let the pickles ferment long enough, according to the recipe, so I don't know what went wrong. Can someone help me get the results I want? I'm a pickle freak!

[ChefJen]

Claussens are Kosher Dills with lots of garlic I know they are my favs

im a pickle freak too and you cant get dills in the Uk (well proper ones) but ive learned i cant match the pros recipes

[ChefJen]

Oh and Claussen Pickles do have cloudy water SALT SALT SALT

[popthebaker]

Take Pickles out for a nice show and a romantic late night dinner. Giving her flowers and a box of fine chocolates will help too.

Seriously, please post your recipe and method and we may be able to help. You can't hurry pickles, or Pickles for that matter, and get the results you want. So, take it slow and gentle and let nature take it's course.
Pop

[Fincher]

Here's a great link, it has a faq chart at the bottom. Lots of good info. Very by the book though, I don't think they would care for my rye boosted salt brine dill pickles


great FAQ chart

[spoonbread]

Klausen does a "cold brine" pickle, which means, the try not to "cook" the cucumber. It is a cold brining method. Hence, thier pickles are very crisp. As far as taste, there are a variety of pickle spice mixes to choose from, but I like the allspice, bay leaf, pepprcorn, salt, coriander and clove mix the best.

[rigpig]

Claussen's are the only dills I will eat and I just checked the jar it says Kosher and they are not cloudy at all - I have 2 jars in the fridge right now - maybe they're processed different for Canada or something, I dunno.
I've tried many Kosher dills from the deli's in NYC and didn't like any of them - waaaay too acidy and soft.
So I think you have something there spoonbread with the cold brine.
A friend of mine made excellent crisp dills that tasted like Claussen's but I never thought to ask for the recipe.

Maybe someone will post a "cold brine" recipe???

[ChefJen]

No i buy my claussens from canada thats where im from been eating them for about 15 years or so lol

Depends which claussens you buy in canada most stores carry the small jar of halves or spears..
Claussen uses a HUGE amount of garlic

SOrry cloudyness i was thinking Ms Whytes pickles Whole Koshers you can usually find them beside clussens in the fridge section

[ricardo]

Here is a link for a traditional home-style recipe.
http://foodgeeks.com/recipes/recipe.phtml?recipe_id=17598
For 3 generations we have never processed the packed jars/sealers. We place some of thr jars in a second refrigerator to hold them at the half done stage longer.
Do not pack the jars too tightly, it reduces the amount of brine available. We only bought local " pickling cukes " that were picked within 24 hours. Some of the Grandmpthers swore by using well water, not tap water. I suspect the chlorine/fluorine retards the pickling.
Ricardo.

[garball]

Who remembers this one?

"Now that's the best tasting pickle I ever heard!"

Vlassic dills

[RodinBangkok]

I think the commercial packers are using a combination of salt fermentation and then replacing the original fermentation brine with another filler that has additional ingredients. Here is a link to a very good article about commercial processes used in pickling.

http://www.foodproductdesign.com/archive/1996/0996DE.html

I use a cold pack method with a brine containing vinegar. I bring the brine to a boil adding the spices, then cool it to room temp, pack the jars, add fresh herbs, and garlic then fill with brine. These jars are not further processed so must be refrigerated. After about 2 weeks they yield a nice crunchy product with a pale green color. My brine is not clear as I use a cider vinegar for flavor, but I think it will remain clear with a white 5% vinegar.

Rod

[Fincher]

oh and instead of using alum, you can use a safer alternative

calcium chloride it will help retain crispness that is often lost during fermentation

[hunkybilly]

here's an easy recipe i've used for years and is as close to claussen's pickles as you'll ever get. first make a brine consisting of 1 litre water, 2 tbs kosher salt 2 tbs vinegar & 2 tbs sugar. i usually make about 7-8 litres as i make about 6 jars at a time. in the meantime take your sterilized jars and put 1 heaping tbs of pickling spices in each jar with 3-5 cloves of garlic or more and a good bunch of fresh dill. pack the jars with dill picles and pour your cool brine into the jar filling up to the top and making sure all the pickles are covered. close the jars and put them in the fridge. now you'll have to wait at least 3-4 weeks before they are ready to eat, i usually wait close to 6-8 weeks. they take a long time to ferment because they are in the fridge, but you'll have a clear brine and the pickles will stay hard and crunchy for at least 6 months. i,m just finishing off some that i made last september. enjoy.

[spoonbread]

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