Alive and Pickling

My grandma Gertie (who I’ve written of before) was a master pickle maker.  I guess she learned from her foremothers and I decided when I was about 11 years old that I should learn to make pickles too.   My mom probably knew how, but she declared that the smell of hot vinegar made her nauseous.   So I asked Grandma if she would teach me.  But, in my grandma’s universe, learning to make pickles starts in the garden.   So I grew the cucumbers and the dill and when they were ready I went across the yard to Grandma’s house.   Old fashioned dills are the first kind I learned: 

Gertie’s Dill Pickle Recipe

Brine:

12 cups water

4 cups pickling vinegar

1 cup pickling salt

This was the original recipe and my friend Irene aka Jam Goddess kindly corrected me that pickling vinegar in Gertie's day was higher percentage of acid.  So in 2012 we need to use half vinegar and half water- so the above recipe should be 8 cups water and 8 cups pickling vinegar.   Thanks Irene.  Note: I haven't killed anyone yet.  (That I know of :))

Mix together and bring to a boil so the salt is all dissolved and then turn off.

This is the brine.

Jars with new snap tops.  For dills it’s nice to use wide mouth jars either 500mL or 1L jars.  Depends on the size of your family.   

Cucumbers- dill pickle size (I prefer about the size of my thumb)

Baby carrots- or carrots cut in quarters.

Beans- with the top and tail trimmed.

Buy a big bunch of dill with the flower heads on them- but not dry seed yet.  (Market vendors will know what to sell you if you say it’s for pickling)  

Dill for pickling

Some years there are lots of aphids and aphids looooovvvvveeee dill.   If you dill has aphids don't worry- leave it outside on the step overnight,  hose it off, then when you go to eat the pickles skim off any extra aphids before you put them on the table.   (Really- it's harmless)

Pickling Salt

If you like garlic or hot peppers in your dills then buy those too.   You will need one clove of garlic minimum per jar.    

It’s always a bit of a guess how many jars for how many vegetables.    You can start with a half a batch of brine and then always make more if you run out.   The full batch that I made last night filled six 1 L jars and four 500 mL jar, but it depends how tightly packed the jars are too!  I don’t mix the types- I make cucumbers or carrots or beans separately.   You could mix them and see how it works out. 

The fresher and crisper your vegetables are to start with the better the pickles will be.

Wash the jars and the screw part of the lids. 

Hold them with tongs and swoosh them in boiling water to sterilize.  

Washing

Wash the vegetables-  Make sure they are clean, trimmed and those pesky little bits of the old cucumber blossoms are off.   You can trim the stem of the cucumber off, but I like it. 

Put a dill blossom in the bottom of the jar (along with a clove of garlic and a hot pepper) optional.  

  

Lay the clean cucumbers (or carrots or beans) in the jar the way that you can fit the most in.  (it’s like a jigsaw puzzle)  Pack them tight!  Add another dill bloom at the top.  Make sure the lid will screw on without touching any vegetables that could be sticking up.    Set aside and keep filling the jars until you either have no more vegetables or no more jars.   

Cram them in!

Heat up the brine until a light boil.   Put the snap tops (inside section of the lid) in a pan of boiling water and let simmer.    Pour the brine into the jars leaving a half cm of space at the top.  Put on a hot snap top and screw on the lid.   Just finger tight is tight enough.  You don't have to crank them tight so you can never open them again. 

Set aside to cool.   You will hear the tops popping down.  You will know they are sealed if the centre of the lid is sucked down and doesn’t flex when you push on it.   If one doesn’t seal don’t worry.  Put it in the back of the fridge.   Jars with sealed lids can be stored in a cool dark place.  

Pickles are ready to eat in a minimum of 8 weeks.  Put them into the fridge to chill before you eat them and they will be really crispy.  This method is safe because the amount of vinegar and salt prevents any bacteria growth.  Other types of pickling require other methods.     If you can resist eating them all, save a jar to enter in the Priddis/Millarville Fair the next summer.  

The rest of the story: 

It was a really great year for cucumbers and at 11 years old the novelty wore off eventually.  So I stopped watering the cucumber patch so they would stop producing.   But it didn’t work- more cucumbers, more picking, more pickling.   I finally figured out what was going on when I came around the hedge to see my grandpa watering my cucumber patch!   He laughed.   For a man who grew up in the Depression you never took food for granted and could never have too many pickles in the cold room.   

I encourage you to try your hand at pickling, join a friend, then teach your kids or the neighbour’s kids and keep an honourable tradition alive and pickling.  

Beautiful

Krystal making pickles for the first time!  Yeah!

The next pickle recipe I'm going to try is this one:  http://www.nwedible.com/2012/09/turmeric-garlic-dill-pickles.htm   Turmeric Garlic Dill Pickles!