Real Pickles

Here is my mom's recipe for dill pickles: My mom always put a slice of rye bread on top of the pickles and then put a plate on top of that with a rock or something else to keep the pickles submerged.They never lasted long enough to spoil.

were they sour pickles or dill pickles? Found this online:

I grow my cucumbers for pickling and there are a couple of issues to consider. First, I don't have many ready to pick yet. I could purchase more at the Whole Foods, but I decided to just use my own and make a small batch. Secondly, my preferred method is to ferment the cucumbers for a deli-style sour pickle. But it's a little warm this time of year. The ideal fermentation temperature is around 68 degrees. I'll just have to find a relatively cool place in the house to stash them.

First I measured enough water to generously cover my pickles and it came to 1 1/2 quarts (six cups). To make "half-sours," I dissolve 3 tablespoons pure sea salt (no additives, or use pickling salt) in the water and pour it into a small plastic food-grade bucket. Add the cucumbers sliced in half lengthwise. Then from the garden I harvested nearly a whole dill plant--the seed head and several branches. I cut these from the stem and added them to the bucket, along with cloves from two heads of our home-grown garlic and about a dozen black peppercorns.

Cover the pickles with a ceramic plate that just fits inside the bucket, and weigh this down with a sealed plastic container filled with water. Cover everything with a clean dish towel to keep the dust out and place the bucket in a dark, cool spot, maybe in the basement.

Check on the pickles in a couple of days. They're done when they taste just right to you, maybe in a week. To stop the fermentation, put the pickles in their brine in the refrigerator. You can also boil the brine to kill the bacteria, then chill it and add the pickles later.

I highly recommend a book called The Joy of Pickling.

It will teach you haw to make real pickles and so many more delicious things!

Written by people who work at the extension service, so the recipes are all tested and safe.

bcsdguy wrote:
Here is my mom's recipe for dill pickles: My mom always put a slice of rye bread on top of the pickles and then put a plate on top of that with a rock or something else to keep the pickles submerged.They never lasted long enough to spoil.

Good old Polski Ogurki. My Busia made them this way.
Jeszcze Polska nie zginela!

Dave, UGA has the National Center for Home Preservation website with instructions and recipes
http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/cucumber_pick.html

Buy a jar of Kosher Dills. Drain all the brine off and discard. Add 1 cup white granulated sugar and replace the lid tightly. Lay the jar on side in the refrigerator. Once a day, turn the jar. In a week, you'll have great pickles. (Brine can be kept for flavoring potato salad or brining cooked veggies such as brussel sprouts, carrots, cauliflower or even hard boiled eggs)

PS: after brine is drained off and before sugar is added, the pickles need to be cut into thick chunks. Sorry about forgetting that step.