Pickles, a reprise

It is starting to seem like the posts about pickles are taking over this blog. Maybe I should have picked “Pickles in the Kitchen” instead of “Socks on the Line” as my blog title. Nevertheless, I just HAD to do one more as a follow up.

Cukes ready to see some (microbial) action!

I finally got perfect lactofermented pickles just the way I like them and I want to be able to replicate this result!

My source credits go to gnowfglins  and kitchenstewardship for these two tips:

1. 3 hour ice water bath for the cukes before pickling

2. cut off the blossom end – something in the blossom end makes the pickles mushy.  Now “tooth be trolled” as my husband says, I can’t tell which is the blossom end of the pickle by looking at it – I think it’s the opposite end of the stem, but most didn’t have stems, so I just cut off both ends. It worked anyway!

The other tip most picklers will include is to use fresh oak or grape leaves in the jar, for the tannic acid. Our oak trees are bare so I used nothing – and it still worked!

Recipe:

per quart jar of cucumbers

1 tbsp salt

1 tbsp mustard seed

1-2 tsp dill seed (much less messy than dill)

1/4 c whey or water kefir

Water to cover

That’s it! Make sure the cukes are pressed down below water line, and leave on the counter 4-5 days in the cooler weather – until bubbly. Then refrigerate and enjoy. You can taste test them as the days go along to see if they are done enough for you.

Oh, and a little extra tip – I had no fresh cukes left, but needed raita for a beef curry soup I was making. I just substituted one of these pickles and it came out great! I don’t think you could even tell the difference. My raita contains grated cucumber (or, now, pickle), ground cumin, and chopped cilantro in yogurt. Delicious!

 

And one more note about pickles, in case we aren’t facebook friends. This was one of my recent statuses, and sort of explains why I made 15 lbs of pickles in the first place.

“…knows it’s ridiculously cliche, but nevertheless just sent her husband out for pickles.”

That’s right, we’re expecting a new (obviously pickle-loving) baby in late October.

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