Brining
List of Ingredients
20 pounds (about 1/2 bushel) cucumbers, 3 to 6 inches in length.
3/4 cup whole mixed pickling spice
2 or 3 bunches dill plant, fresh or dried (optional)
2 1/2 cups vinegar
1 3/4 cups salt, pure granulated
2 1/2 gallons water.
Recipe
Cover cucumbers with cold water. Wash thoroughly, using a vegetable
brush; handle gently to avoid bruising. Take care to remove blossoms.
Drain on rack or wipe dry.
Place half the pickles, spices and a layer of dill in your chosen container.
Fill with cucumbers to 3 or 4 inches from the top. Place a layer of dill and
remaining spices over the top of cucumbers. (Garlic may be added, if
desired) Thoroughly mix the vinegar, salt and water and pour over the
cucumbers. Cover with heavy china or glass plate or lid that fits inside the
container.
Use a weight to hold the plate down and keep the cucumbers under the
brine. cover loosely with clean cloth. Keep pickles at room temperature
and remove scum daily when formed. Scum may start forming in 3 to 5
days. Do not stir pickles, but be sure they are covered completely with
brine. If necessary, make additional brine, using original proportions
specified in recipe.
In about 3 weeks, the cucumbers will have become an olive-green color
and should have a desirable flavor. Any white spots inside the fermented
cucumbers will disappear in processing.
Freshening
If a less salty flavor is desired in the brined pickles, the surplus salt may be
removed. Soak in fresh water or an equal part of vinegar and water until
the amount of salt is removed for desired flavor.
Packing
The original brine is usually cloudy as a result of yeast development
during the fermentation period. If this cloudiness is objectionable, fresh
brine may be used to cover the pickles when packing them into the jars.
When making fresh brine, use 1/2 cup salt and 4 cups vinegar to 1 gallon
of water. The fermentation brine generally is preferred for its added flavor
and should be strained before heating to boiling. Pack the pickles, along
with some of the dill, into clean, hot quart jars; add garlic, if desired. Avoid
too tight a pack. Cover with boiling brine to 1/2 inch from the top of the jar.
Adjust jar lids.
Processing
Process in boiling water for 5 minutes. Start to count the processing time as
soon as water returns to boiling. Caution: Do not overprocess or pickles will
be soft. Having brine at boiling, jars hot, and water boiling in boiling water
bath helps shorten the processing time. Remove jars and set upright,
several inches apart, on a wire rack to cool. The recipe yields about 9 to 10
quarts of pickles.
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