Ok so first time making pickles! I researched and watched many a youtube video and then decided on my plan. At first I wanted to make a huge bunch but I only had a bowl full of my own so I decided to do with what I had. I washed them all and rubbed off the prickles. Then, as per an organic pickles video, I snatched some of the grape leaves that run wild over our fence from our neighbor. Apparently, grape leaves perform the same action as the "pickle crisp" powders and such. So it went like this:
- put jars in the dishwasher to sterilize
- put caps and lids in a sauce pot to sterilize
- wash and rub down kirby cucumbers from my garden
- snatch grape leaves and wash
- start the brine
- 3 cups of water
- 2 cups of white vinegar
- 1/4 cup of iodine free salt (some say pickling salt only but the important part is that it is iodine free)
- stir and bring to a boil
- decide which cucumbers will fit in which jars
- lay a grape leaf in the bottom of each jar
- place two pealed cloves of garlic in each jar (I hope to grow my own away from the dogs next year...the buggers always eat my garlic and onions.)
- start placing cucumbers in jars
- put dill in once it has a place to rest
- I used a combo of dried and fresh because that is what I had from my garden.
- finish filling the jars
- I added pickling spices from a farmer's market to two of the five jars
- ladle the brine in leaving 1" of head space
- using tongs or a magnet wand, place a cover on each and secure the screw top
- You don't want to physically touch them for two reasons: 1. the water is boiling hot, ouch! 2. you want the lids to remain sterile
- place in hot water bath where the tops of the jars are covered
- one it reaches a boil again, time it ten minutes
- remove and give space to cool
- wait about a week before you crack the first jar
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