How to Preserve & Pickle
Pickling is a form of fermentation that preserves foods in a salt solution called brine. Pickle is actually a term applied to any vegetable used in the pickling process, but is most commonly used to describe the cucumber. Pickled foods include dill pickles, sauerkraut and relishes. Pickling recipes differ between vegetable varieties, but there are specific guidelines for pickling foods properly so that the pickles preserve properly and that no harmful bacteria gets into your pickling jars. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Pickle recipe
- Vegetables
- Scale
- Pickling lime
- Salt
- Cooking crock
- Canner
- Jar lifter
- Jars with new lids
Instructions
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1
Pick vegetables that are firm and not spoiled.
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2
Weigh the vegetables and write down the weight. A 1-gallon container tends to hold 5 lbs. of fresh cucumbers.
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3
Cut off the blossom end of the vegetable.
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4
Mix 1 cup of pickling lime to 1/2 cup salt to 1 gallon of water in a 2- to 3-gallon cooking crock. Lime will make the pickles crisp.
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5
Soak the cucumbers in the mixture for 12 to 24 hours.
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6
Remove the cucumbers from the water, rinse them and soak again for an hour. Do this two more times.
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7
Place the pickled vegetables along with your other ingredients for your specific recipe into sterilized jars and seal the jars with new lids and screw-type bands. Tighten the bands.
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8
Fill your canner halfway full of water and heat to 180 degrees F. Load your jars into the canner with the jar lifter and add enough water so that the water is 1 inch above the jars.
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9
Boil the jars for the recommended time. This depends on the size of the jars, so look at your recipe. Cool the jars for 12 to 24 hours and remove the bands from the jars. Test that the lids are sealed. If any lids are not sealed, refrigerate those jars. Sealed jars will keep for many months in a pantry.
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References
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