Pickles too Sour/Salty...

[Hopz]

I put up some pickle spears a couple of weeks ago, and yesterday I opened the jar ans tasted them.
Great flavor, but wow! these things are sour and way too salty.
I was using "standard" recipes, regular white vinegar, and non-iodized salt.

the ratios were, water= 1.5 cup
vinegar= 0.5 cup
salt= t tablespoon.

If you taste the commercial pickle guys brine, it is not that salty/vinegary.
Question... do the commercial guys have a different process such that they use less vinegar and salt, or do the rely on another preservative, or is it that the published recipes over salt and vinegar out of an abundance of caution?

 

[CharlieD]

Don't know about comercial producers, but personaly I never use vinegar, IMHO, pickles taste horible with vinegar, brrrrr, yuk, but that's just me.

P.S. also it sounds like way too much salt.

 

[Andy M.]

Don't know about comercial producers, but personaly I never use vinegar, IMHO, pickles taste horible with vinegar, brrrrr, yuk, but that's just me.

P.S. also it sounds like way too much salt.

So, Charlie, how do you make pickles without vinegar?

 

[Shunka]

Wish there was a way for you to send them to me, Hopz!!!! They sound just the way I like them.

 

[Hopz]

Wish there was a way for you to send them to me, Hopz!!!! They sound just the way I like them.

go to the McCormack spices web site and look for the pickle spears recipe...easy, but as noted in the op. too salty/sour.

 

[thecactuswill]

Just use less vinegar, and less salt.

 

[karadekoolaid]

Just use less vinegar, and less salt.

I tried about !!! 20 recipes for pickles till I found one I liked.
Then I changed it so much, it wasn't even close to the original

I think everyone has their own "TasteBud" with pickles. I use water, I use salt, I use white wine vinegar, I use dill, I use peppercorns, coriander seeds, mustard seeds AND a little itsy bit of sugar.

I go to the supermarkets in the USA and buy 10 different kinds of pickles. DON'T like the "Yellow #3" tinted ones. Don't like the Kosher pickles I've tried ( too watery and salty); don't like the Lebanese pickles I've tried ( too salty ), DON'T like this, dont like that...but I eat them all!!!

So I decided to make my own. It's a question of time till you get it right.

 

[DinaFine]

I just started a recipe for kosher dills fermented right in the jars. Has anyone ever done this? I made one jar last year and it came out good, so I am making four. I opened them today, and 3 of them were scummy on top, so I skimmed it off, added more brine, and am waiting. Does anyone know what it means it it doesnt turn cloudy? 3 jars are cloudy but one isnt. Any ideas?

 

[jennyema]

Dina,

Pickle Problems

Says cloudy is from lactic acid. You need that to make the pickles safe to eat, so I might be nervous if they don't get cloudy, but I have never made fermented pickles, just quick ones.

 

[CharlieD]

Cucumbers to fill 1 galon jar.
Garlic 8-10 cloves (if cloves are big you can cut them in the half)
Dill to loosely cover cower the bottom (divided)
Hot Pepper 1-2
Pickling Salt 3 table spoons
Bay Leaves 3-4
Allspice 6-7
Black Pepper 10-12
Tap Water

I use a 1 gallon jar. You can divide the recipe into smaller portions, but then I do not know how it would work, never tried small portion.
I like small to medium cucumbers. Put the dill, garlic and bay leaves on the bottom. Put 1 or 2 hot peppers I do not know what they called, but during the summer our farmers market is full of them. You actually can add a sweet one too, people like to eat them, but I don’t so I do not add any. Fill the jar with cucumbers; add allspice and black peppercorn peppers cover cucumbers with some dill. Add salt (make sure to use pickling salt). Fill with tap water all the way to the top. Tighten the lid pretty tight. Put the jar in the bawl or some other container. For next few days during the fermentation, the water will be sipping thru the top. Make sure to clean that water so you know when the fermentation stops. 5-7 days after that you can put them away. I have spare fridge so I keep them in the fridge the whole winter. My mom just keeps them in the pantry, but the problem is they continue, albeit slowly, to ferment in the warm place so she can’t keep them for too long because they became too sour.

Oh, forgot most important thing. To make sure pickles are crunchy you have to hold the cucumbers in the cold water for 3-4-6-8 hours prior the processing. The longer -the better. Changing the water every 2 hours. I do it right in the kitchen sink.

 

[Michael in FtW]

For those curious as to what the recipe really said ... here is the link to the McCormick recipe for Dill Pickle Spears. Obviously the recipe calls for a 1:1 ratio of water to vinegar - not the 3:1 Hopz posted which could affect the safety of the finished product - see ref here which addresses the reduced vinegar question.

But - there is more than one way to make a pickle! Some commercial pickle makers add sugar (which is acidic) ... some completely ferment the pickles before canning ... some use the fresh-pack or quick process.

The National Center for Home Food Preservation has a good How Do I Pickle site.

 

[DinaFine]

Dina,

Pickle Problems

Says cloudy is from lactic acid. You need that to make the pickles safe to eat, so I might be nervous if they don't get cloudy, but I have never made fermented pickles, just quick ones.

[Thank you for the link, that really helped]