The snow in central fl has long melted and the cucumbers are growing like crazy. It's pickle day; dills and bread and butter.
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The snow in central fl has long melted and the cucumbers are growing like crazy. It's pickle day; dills and bread and butter.
Fermenting the dills?
Yes, first time.
Envious. Since we are talking pickles here is the recipe that was passed to me a while back for garlic dills and it is perfect. Cutting off the bloom end is the only "trick" per se.
Basic Pickles
*boil up side down in 1/3 pot of water 5 mins. rolling boil.
*cut 1/4” off blossom end for extra crisp...removes enzyme that causes mushiness
* boil vine
Ingredients
8 pounds 3 to 4 inch long pickling cucumbers
4 cups white vinegar
12 cups water
2/3 cup pickling salt
16 cloves garlic, peeled and halved
8 sprigs fresh dill weed
8 heads fresh dill weed
Directions
Wash cucumbers, and place in the sink (I use the bathtub!) with cold water and lots of ice cubes. Soak in ice water for at least 2 hours but no more than 8 hours. Refresh ice as required. Sterilize 8 (1 quart) canning jars and lids in boiling water for at least 10 minutes.
In a large pot over medium-high heat, combine the vinegar, water, and pickling salt. Bring the brine to a rapid boil.
In each jar, place 2 half-cloves of garlic, one head of dill, then enough cucumbers to fill the jar (about 1 pound). Then add 2 more garlic halves, and 1 sprig of dill. Fill jars with hot brine. Seal jars, making sure you have cleaned the jar's rims of any residue.
Process sealed jars in a boiling water bath. Process quart jars for 15 minutes.
Store pickles for a minimum of 8 weeks before eating. Refrigerate after opening. Pickles will keep for up to 2 years if stored in a cool dry place
When I was a kid, my dad always had a vegetable garden, and always grew cukes.
He started making and canning bread and butter pickles and gave them out to everyone at holidays, etc.
They were delicious.
Then, after years and years (I'm gonna guess close to twenty), he stopped the vegetable garden and with it, the pickles.
I remember the pickle making and canning operation taking over the entire kitchen all the time when I was growing up.
SPP
The last couple of summers the kids and I have made a recipe similar to this-
Making Sour Pickles | Wild Fermentation :: Wild Fermentation
I used oak leaves for the tannin to keep the pickles crisp. Also I added a fistful of little Thai chillies.
Good stuff. I'm harvesting about 4lbs a week right now. If I can keep those honey bees doing their thing I should be good for another month until it gets too hot down here.
My wife makes some with store-bought cukes, but for a quick fix we've been enjoying these: SONOMA BRINERY
A project I've been doing with my students at thr RI Training School. At risk youth learning cooking skills, and team work/problem solving.
Pickled Spicy Carrots 2015.
SPRING AT LAST: pickles and tornados.
A bump in ride time and heat = craving pickles.
I've got Jalapenos coming out my ears. Any clues pickling these? If all else fails I might slice them into rings and do a apple cider vinegar peppercorn pour over.
I am jealous.Quote:
Originally Posted by Too Tall
I had huge volume last year so went ahead and tripled down this year on tomato plants, cucumber plants and peepers of all sorts (jalapeños, hot wax, cayenne, sweet pimento, hot pimento, tobascos, habanero, bird's eye, red Thai, bells) and the weather has laughed at me. The whole summer so far has been a couple of days of hot dry weather followed by three days of rain, repeat.
I will be lucky to get as much as I got last year. No volume, nothing ripening. Last year 1 San Marzano plant. This year 8 San Marzano plants and I will get less production.
It is to cry.
Same here, Toots. I refuse to pickle them, though. Just put them on everything. When you run out of everything make nachos.
Smoke em and dehydrate em.Quote:
Originally Posted by Too Tall
Thread them up and hang them in the basement to dry. Dried peppers all winter.Quote:
Originally Posted by Too Tall
This is what I do with all the herbs and peppers (when I have them)
So in the last two weeks the peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers - basically everything have kicked into high gear.
I now have bunches of Sweet Basil, Greek Basil, Oregano and Parsley hanging to dry.
Have two full loops of jalapeños hanging and one of Super Chilis.
I had a bunch of other ones ripe, so this morning I knocked these out to try and keep ahead of the onslaught.
Habanero, poblano, Serrano, Fresno, hot wax and hot cherry peppers pickled in Vinegar and finished off in a hot water bath. Both seals up about 5 minutes after I took them off the heat.
Out of town again this week and it already looks like cucumbers and tomatoes into jars next weekend.