Pickling

Basic Kosher Pickles

This is about the most basic pickle recipe out there. Tastes somewhat like a Claussen, from what I’m told.

I use little Kirby cucumbers. They’re in season right now and there’s always a big bushel of them at my corner market. It’s firm and got nice small seeds — perfect for pickling.

I’m using a 32 oz. jar, which fits about two-and-a-half Kirbies cut into sixths.

Ingredient amounts were all eyeballed. But throw the following in the jar:

• Maybe 2 tbsp. black pepper corns
• About the same amount, a hair less, of mustard seeds
• A few sprigs of dill (a sprig being the whole stem and leaves)
• I guess what was probably a 1/4 cup of yellow onion
• A 1/4 tsp. of sugar
• 1 tbsp. kosher salt

Packing all that in the bottom of the jar, shove the cucumber spears in on top.

The liquid for this is about 1 part white vinegar to 2 parts water — then just top off with water, cause you really want a little more water than just the 2-1. Boil the vinegar and water and pour it into the jar. Seal it up. Let it come back down to room temperature and throw it in the refrigerator for about a week.

Grandma Johnson’s Pickles

This my grandma’s recipe, which gets slightly more involved, partially because it involves more waiting before jarring. The pickles turn out slightly buttery, crisp, with a nice tanginess to them.

Same amount of Kirby cucumbers cut in sixths for the same size jar.

In a casserole dish, high-walled baking pan, or roasting pan spread out the cucumber spears, a 1/2 cup of yellow onion, and 1/3 to 1/2 cup of green pepper strips. Over the top sprinkle 2 tbsp. of coarse salt (I use kosher salt) and 1/4 teaspoon of alum.

Cover all this with ice and let sit for about 2 hours until the ice melts, stirring occasionally. I’m not really sure what this does, but I think it makes the cucumbers contract so when the hot vinegar syrup hits them they expand and suck up all the flavoring.

Right, so there’s a apple cider vinegar and sugar syrup that these will pickle in for a week or so. They syrup is 1 part apple cider vinegar to 2 parts sugar. It needs to be heated on the stove and stirred until it begins to boil and all the sugar is dissolved.

Transfer all your cucumbers, peppers, and onions into a jar with about 1 tsp. of celery salt. You don’t want the water in with your ingredients, but you don’t want to rinse them either, because you want a little of the alum and salt clinging to the cucumbers to transfer into the jar. Then you just pour the syrup over them and seal it up.

Like the previous recipe, let it return to room temperature and then transfer it to the refrigerator for a week. “You don’t want the refrigerator to have to work too hard,” according to my mother.

Oak Pickles

Here’s one last pickle recipe, thanks to my friend Emily (whose pie blog you should read).

Emily did the slices instead of spears, which is how my mother always makes grandma’s recipe and I have a fondness for. With slices, it’s all about the size of your jar and the size of your cucumber, so just get a couple and use the leftovers for a pitcher of Pimm’s Cup.

So pack your cucumbers in with the following:

• About 1 tbsp. of pepper corns
• 2 or 3 cloves of garlic
• An oak leaf

The brine for this is about 1 tbsp. of sea salt for each cup of water. Go easy on the salt, a little goes a long way in this one.

“Oak leaves keep them crunchy, apparently, and add an oaky finish,” is how Emily described these pickles.

Emily described this as “lacto-fermented” food, which I’m still figuring out.

I’m anxious to try this recipe, it sounds really simple and good. Seems like you can pickle just about anything with this recipe — Emily suggested dillo beans.