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Definitely don't add sugar if it's too sweet. Vinegar, salt and water are good, as said above
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Jun 21, 2023 18:53
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thanks so much for the answers. none of the recipes I looked at included a salt brine step, that makes a lot of sense. I was already adding garlic cause I just put garlic in almost everything as a matter of course - I was mincing it, should I be crushing or puréing it or does that not really matter?
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Jun 21, 2023 19:09
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Doesn't really matter in my experience. If I use garlic in a pickle I just smash it a bit to let the brine get in there more easily, but it's sitting in there for a couple days at least, it doesn't need a lot of help for things to get garlicky. If you try it and it's still not garlicky enough, try crushing it next time. And yeah, you don't need to be precise with a fridge pickle like you do when canning, and in all cases it's pretty much always safe to add more salt and acid and pretty much always safe to remove non-salt non-acid ingredients, the issues come in more if you modify a recipe so that you go under safe salinity and acidity levels.
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Jun 21, 2023 19:47
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Also don't be afraid if your garlic turns blue. It's just a harmless reaction to acid
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Jun 21, 2023 20:50
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Soul Dentist posted:Also don't be afraid if your garlic turns blue. It's just a harmless reaction to acid that sounds like a benefit to me
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Jun 21, 2023 23:06
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alright my last batch was much better but still not really what I’m looking for. If anyone's tried the Oh Snap carrots and can let me know what they think goes into that brine, I'd appreciate it. I've been googling around for clone recipes but it seems like that isn't really a thing in pickling like I’m familiar with from brewing and baking
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Jul 4, 2023 16:21
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indigi posted:alright my last batch was much better but still not really what I’m looking for. If anyone's tried the Oh Snap carrots and can let me know what they think goes into that brine, I'd appreciate it. I've been googling around for clone recipes but it seems like that isn't really a thing in pickling like I’m familiar with from brewing and baking Dill, caraway, garlic, black pepper would be my guess based on the last bag I had. Add a bit of curry powder or some of these too: turmeric, fennel, fenugreek, ginger. Ginger goes really well in a dill pickle recipe when it plays a background note.
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Jul 4, 2023 19:11
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effika posted:Dill, caraway, garlic, black pepper would be my guess based on the last bag I had. Add a bit of curry powder or some of these too: turmeric, fennel, fenugreek, ginger. Sounds like a plan, thanks
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Jul 4, 2023 20:56
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i didn't look at my pickles for like 2 weeks and there's so much loving scum on the surface jesus christ.
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Jul 5, 2023 02:12
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I'm trying my hand a second time at fermented pickles, it's been about 3 days, this is perfectly normal foam, yeah? And the small bits of dried dill and occasional stray peppercorn floating to the top won't attract mold/bad yeast, will they?
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Aug 9, 2023 22:47
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That looks like normal foam, yeah. How’s it smell? Anything floating above the surface is a chance to collect mold you don’t want. Stir it in regularly and/or weight it down.
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Aug 10, 2023 00:13
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foam and stuff floating that usually doesn't is totally normal wrt fermentation. if it's open to the air, yeast and other bacteria are getting in there; I’m only familiar with brewing chemistry but most of the airborne stuff you worry about is because it will turn your beer or wine into vinegar - which I'd guess isn't a problem with pickle fermentation - or make it taste a little funky, but those yeasts have difficult time getting started in acidic oxygen-poor environments wrap some tinfoil around the top if you're worried, the offgassing generated by the fermentation creates very slight positive pressure which keeps the vast majority of microorganisms from getting in. I’m not sure how anything works with mold, though, that was never a concern with beer or wine
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Aug 10, 2023 00:13
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Try not to use dry herbs when you ferment they always float to the top and end up a site for mold growth. Whole fresh cut dill works better. It will stay under the follower and weight. In jars like that I had a success rate of 1 out of three. Get a number two or a number one crock and it’s all much easier. And the white stuff is kahm yeast it’s normal, you can skim it off. I generally wait until I have something else I need to skim off the top until I get it though.
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Aug 10, 2023 02:50
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Jar question: friend of mine is looking at picking up Weck jars, explicitly to do pressure canning. I have seen some pages saying they are boiling water only, and he has some websites saying it's ok for that. Anyone have any science based sites (not foodinjars.com sort of stuff?) That say one way or another?
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Aug 10, 2023 12:54
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is mold a very common issue with pickle fermentation? with beer or mead you could have fruit/hops/whatever floating in there and I've never even been advised to worry about it in a class let alone take any steps to prevent it, we're more worried about mold growth on equipment when it isn't in use or cleaned properly. but most fermentation is done in a closed container so the CO2 would inhibit any mold growth. though I've done plenty of reading about open fermentation and haven't really seen it discussed either. I’m fascinated by this and wonder what the bio/chem difference is between the processes, I should do some reading
indigi fucked around with this message at 15:45 on Aug 10, 2023 |
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Aug 10, 2023 15:43
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It’s common for mold to grow on the top of the ferment. You have to skim it off.
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Aug 10, 2023 16:23
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This book is super great https://www.amazon.com/Fermented-Ve...91681329&sr=8-3 The only real departure I do from it is to add some starter from a previous successful ferment or yogurt. It has pictures in the back of bad infections so you can know what is normal and what isn’t.
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Aug 10, 2023 16:30
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indigi posted:is mold a very common issue with pickle fermentation? with beer or mead you could have fruit/hops/whatever floating in there and I've never even been advised to worry about it in a class let alone take any steps to prevent it, we're more worried about mold growth on equipment when it isn't in use or cleaned properly. but most fermentation is done in a closed container so the CO2 would inhibit any mold growth. though I've done plenty of reading about open fermentation and haven't really seen it discussed either. I’m fascinated by this and wonder what the bio/chem difference is between the processes, I should do some reading IIRC mold is also a theoretical issue for the first day or so of beer/etc. ferments until the really active fermentation starts and the yeast is both outcompeting everything and making the environment less hospitable through creating alcohol. It doesn't happen much even in that first day or two because the boil has sterilized your wort (which would have otherwise had ambient mold in it from the surface of the grains), most people are pretty good about sanitizing their fermentation vessels when doing beer/etc., and you are typically directly inoculating your wort with a ton of the fungus you actually want in there (i.e. your yeast). On the other hand, if you're doing for example something like a 2% brine lactofermented pickle, sure you should be sanitizing your vessel, but otherwise all you're doing is lightly washing your cucumbers to remove surface dirt (since you want the lactobacillus living on the cuke's surface to survive; mold spores will definitely live through that, too) and adding a bit of salt rather than directly inoculating your ferment with prepared microorganisms. So more mold spores are present and you're not giving your desired microbiota as much of a head start. Of course, basic pickling still usually works, because you're using at least 2% of salt and mold hates salt (but lacto doesn't mind it; that's the whole reason lactofermented vegetables work, the ambient lacto deals with the salt better than pretty much any other microorganism and its fermentation acidifies the mixture, which makes it even more inhospitable to other microbiota after). But if something floats above the surface of the brine, especially before it's had a chance to get salty and acidic, that little piece of cucumber or whatever is probably gonna be less than 2% salty, so it'll provide a great foothold for mold to get going.
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Aug 10, 2023 16:49
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that's wonderful info, thanks!
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Aug 10, 2023 17:06
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I planted some pickling cucumbers as a ground crop near my tomatoes and now I have a crisper drawer nearly full of cucumbers. I have leaned a lesson that I probably only need 2 plants next year. I’ll probably dabble in some fermented pickles, but if anyone has a favorite refrigerator pickle recipe I’m very interested. Doubly so if we’re talkin a sour kosher dill.
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Aug 10, 2023 17:32
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Bar Ran Dun posted:This book is super great I second this book.
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Aug 11, 2023 19:08
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A Pack of Kobolds posted:I planted some pickling cucumbers as a ground crop near my tomatoes and now I have a crisper drawer nearly full of cucumbers. I have leaned a lesson that I probably only need 2 plants next year. This is the recipe I use. It comes from a gentleman from New Orleans. He passed away about 15 years ago. George's Refrigerator Pickles Per gallon jug: Pickling cucumbers. washed 3 heads of fresh dill 4 cloves sliced garlic Pack washed cucumbers into gallon jugs, layering the dill and garlic at the bottom, middle, and top of the jar. Brine, make enough to fill your jugs of pickles: 2 cups distilled vinegar 8 cups water 1 cup kosher or pickling salt (you may want to adjust this based on how salty you like your pickles) 2 tsp dry dill seed 1 tsp alum for each jar. Bring brine ingredients to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes and cool. Pour cooled brine over pickles in jars making sure cucumbers are covered. Add 1 tsp alum to the top of each jar. Put lids on jars and place in refrigerator. Pickles will be ready in about 6 weeks.
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Aug 13, 2023 14:39
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Got lots of plums and damsons this year from my parents. Does anybody have any pickling or preserving recipes they recommend?
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Aug 13, 2023 16:44
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HUGE PUBES A PLUS posted:
Huh... I've always seen pickling rations at 1:1 for water:vinegar. I know it's just a fridge pickle, so it doesn't have to be that magic pH of 4.6 or less to be shelf-stable, but that still looks a little light on the acid to me. Someone better at chemistry do that pH math on that. Although the big unknown variable is the water IN the cukes, yeah? Although it looks like cukes basically count AS water (like 95% ) so, idk...even if that is a fine amountr of vinegar to get the right pH, it's not enough for my tastes, lol, love me a really sour pickle. Sometimes for my own pickles I go 1:1.5 water:vinegar to get them more sour.
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Aug 14, 2023 21:11
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DrBouvenstein posted:Huh... I've always seen pickling rations at 1:1 for water:vinegar. Adjust as you want but this is the recipe we've used ever since George shared it with us. The pickles are crisp and taste great.
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Aug 14, 2023 21:27
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Would it be okay to scale down this kimchi recipe for the small amount of Napa cabbage I have so long as I retain the 3% weight in salt?
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Aug 22, 2023 06:39
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Absolutely fine but why on earth would you scale it down?
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Aug 22, 2023 10:23
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Any advice on how to can some pickled red onions? There's a billion recipes out there and it's annoying.
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Aug 22, 2023 11:06
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That Old Ganon posted:Would it be okay to scale down this kimchi recipe for the small amount of Napa cabbage I have so long as I retain the 3% weight in salt? That cookbook rules.
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Aug 22, 2023 13:26
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Finally got off my butt and canned some bread and butter pickles last night with a bunch of cukes from my garden: They came out of the water bath at like 10:30, and all had already *ping*-ed by the time I went to bed a little past 11. Used basically the recipe from America's Test Kitchen, the jist of which is: 3 pounds of cukes 1 white onion (I had only like 2.5 pounds of cukes, so I used 2 onions to make sure I had enough) 1/4 cup pickling salt 3 cups vinegar (I did have and half of apple cider and white) 2 cups sugar 1 cup water Spices* *Obviously this is up to you, I used something similar to theirs. About 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds, 1/2 teaspoon celery seeds, and 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves (I've never used cloves in these before, so I'm hoping their judgement is good on including it.) Slice the cuke and onion, put it in a bowl and then cover them with the salty, and mix it all up with your hands to get the salt all coated. Put in fridge and let it be for 3 hours (if you don't have room in the fridge for a bog bowl of cukes and onions, cover the top with ice cubes and leave it on the counter) After 3 hours, bring the sugar, vinegar, water, and spices to a boil. Dump the veggies into a colander to drain off all the water that was pulled out by the salt. Don't rinse them, you want to keep that salt. Pack the veggies into your jars. Once the vinegar mixture is boiling, ladle into jars, leaving 1/2" headspace. If doing fridge pickles, add lids and let cool, put into fridge. If doing canned pickles, follow the standard canning procedure with a 10 min boil. The onions I used were large, and I was at maybe like 2.7 pounds of cukes, and it took 3 pints and 6 half-pint jars. I think the original recipe claims to be for 5 pint jars, so I was about a pint more of total veggies, but I still had plenty of liquid. DrBouvenstein fucked around with this message at 13:56 on Aug 22, 2023 |
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Aug 22, 2023 13:53
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Soul Dentist posted:Absolutely fine but why on earth would you scale it down? Scythe posted:That cookbook rules.
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Aug 23, 2023 06:39
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That Old Ganon posted:I have no idea where'd I'd get Japanese parsley, though. There's exactly one (1) Japanese market in Denver. Assuming you’re talking about mitsuba, they may have it, but if they don’t, the leaves from a fresh bunch of celery are a pretty good substitute. You can also do a 50/50 blend with them and actual parsley.
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Aug 23, 2023 13:20
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DrBouvenstein posted:Finally got off my butt and canned some bread and butter pickles last night with a bunch of cukes from my garden: Just tried this recipe last weekend for my first time making pickles and using a water bath and I'd be curious if you like them or not. I followed their recipe exactly as written then popped the first jar open after 2 days or so. My wife liked them quite a bit but I thought it had a terrible after taste to the point where I had to spit it out. Their recipe had tumeric in it and I'm wondering if maybe that gave it the after taste or possibly I screwed something up with processing them.
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Aug 24, 2023 13:20
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Weekend plans, 20 lbs of beets and 25lbs of tomatoes. Plus other stuff.  This, a fresh audiobook, and that the high temp dropped from 100 to 70 makes me so happy!  11 pints of salsa, 25 of beets. My feet hurt! Arkhamina fucked around with this message at 00:27 on Aug 28, 2023 |
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Aug 26, 2023 16:49
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Keebler posted:Just tried this recipe last weekend for my first time making pickles and using a water bath and I'd be curious if you like them or not. I followed their recipe exactly as written then popped the first jar open after 2 days or so. My wife liked them quite a bit but I thought it had a terrible after taste to the point where I had to spit it out. Their recipe had tumeric in it and I'm wondering if maybe that gave it the after taste or possibly I screwed something up with processing them. I had one jar that didn't process correctly, lid popped down like it should have, but then the next day I was labeling them and it came right off. I think being only at room temp for a day, they were probably fine to keep as fridge pickles? We tasted them and the GF and I both like them. Did you also include the clove? Maybe a tad too much, or it wasn't ground down fine enough and you got a piece of one.
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Aug 27, 2023 19:28
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I did include the clove, that's a good point. Wonder if I accidentally mis-measured it. Maybe I'll try another batch and omit both that clove and tumeric, cucumbers are pretty cheap right now.
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Aug 29, 2023 14:53
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I don't need to make any recipe adjustments to change jar size or veg cut, right? I want to make pickled jalapenos, following a Ball recipe, but in smaller jars and cut into slices instead of strips. I've never canned before and just want to be extra sure I don't ruin my garden harvest by missing something.
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Aug 31, 2023 23:22
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The proportions stay the same, but when you process the jars in the boiling water, you have to process them longer.
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Aug 31, 2023 23:27
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TooMuchAbstraction posted:The proportions stay the same, but when you process the jars in the boiling water, you have to process them longer. That's for larger jars, not smaller  If you're using smaller jars than the recipe calls for, you'd use the processing size for the next size up (e.g. if the recipe covers quarts and pints, and you're using half pint jars, you'd use the timing for pints). If you're using larger jars than the recipe calls for, you're technically into "unapproved" territory no matter how much you increase the processing time (at least by USDA standards). Cutting the veggies differently depends. If they're similar (or smaller*) in bulk or thickness, you're probably ok. If a recipe calls for 1/2" cubes of something and you do 1-1/2" cubes, especially of a dense veggie, you can't be sure the heat will penetrate  sufficiently.*It's possible that cutting something smaller will lead to more solids and less liquid in the jar, and potentially leading to unsafe canning. As an extreme example, cubed pumpkin is ok to can at home, but pumpkin puree (which is just pumpkin cut up really small, right? ) isn't. If you end up with a similar ratio of liquid to solid as the original recipe would have had, you're probably gonna be ok.
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Sep 1, 2023 15:10
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That's really helpful, thank you!
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Sep 2, 2023 00:03
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