Homemade Pickles?

[Clint]

Thought I would see if anyone here makes their own pickles!

I absolutely love Claussen dill pickles.....Cold, salty, crunchy....What's not to love? :glassesgr

I was thinking that I could create my own customized crunchy salty treats by adding my own style. Like maybe more garlic or even toss in jalapeños to spice things up. :dunno:

So, anyone here make their own pickles?

BTW...really not interested in suggestions for gourmet pickles nor specialty retailers...Just wanted to take on the challenge of making them at home

 

[rdomfoto]

I love pickling!

I did a batch using Rice Wine Vinegar and included some fresh sliced ginger to give it an Asian feel. That was probably my most exotic set. They turned out well. Not super great, but enjoyable.

Pickled cauliflower is really a delight, too. Of course, if you like a good Bloody Mary, pickle some green beans. A little while back there was a thread on making kimchi here on BoTL.

A buddy bought Pickled: From Curing Lemons to Fermenting Cabbage for me recently. Haven't made anything from it yet.

Otherwise, some classic pickles are easy to make and look great on a shelf.

Check this out:

[video=youtube_share;pul3Hr8tvJY]http://youtu.be/pul3Hr8tvJY[/video]

 

[Clint]

Thanks, Rob!

So do you play with the brine mixture? Like adding more garlic and stuff? Have you ever added jalapeños?

 

[rdomfoto]

I play all the time - it's pretty inexpensive to mess with the brine because you can always do one or two jars only and test. I think the most critical aspect of pickling is to take really good notes: number each jar, keep notes about when you made it, what you used, etc. Any kind of variable that you changed. It's pretty similar to what a lot of us do with cigars when we lay them down for months or a few years.

I've used jalapeno peppers, habanero peppers, and I even did a jar of pickled Thai peppers. THOSE worked out beautifully. They retained a lot of heat but also mellowed so that the heat wasn't harsh.

 

[Clint]

So cool...Can't wait to attempt this!

 

[Sirspanksalot]

What do you guys know about living in the hood and kool aid pickles?

Don't try em, they're nasty. Stick to the good kind

 

[sean]

Clint, this has been on my bucket list for a long time... My grandfather used to make batches of pickles and dole them out like they were candy. He was really into making the pickles really spicy. As a kid, I took one bite and just remember salty burning pain... he died when I was 9, so I never was really "old enough" to try them again.

I also always wanted to make my own pickled carrots with onions and jalapenos - taco shop style!

 

[Highlander]

I might get pickled tonight.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

 

[hogfarmer]

I have garden and pickle just about anything. Cukes, beets, beans, etc. I usually stick to a classic brine and add hot peppers and garlic when I feel like akick. Pickled eggs are the best! Oh ya, home made kraut is great.

 

[Life in smoke]

I have garden and pickle just about anything. Cukes, beets, beans, etc. I usually stick to a classic brine and add hot peppers and garlic when I feel like akick. Pickled eggs are the best! Oh ya, home made kraut is great.

+1 on the eggs : )
My pickling time is spent mostly with peppers, home grown freshly picked, thrown into a classic homemade brine, my personal favorite thing to do is make some stuffed peppers with prosciutto and mozzarella, or capicola and provolone : ) soak them in brine for 6 months with garlic cloves oregano and whatever else I'm feeling then enjoy! Surprisingly enough never did anything with cucumbers haha

 

[ENV]

I like this thread... jotting things down in my notebook

 

[Clint]

Okay, that does it...I'm in!!

So, any best recommendations on where to buy jars, either specialty stores or online?

Looks like all the other necessities can be purchased at the market, and/or Whole Foods

 

[Clint]

Looks like the sites I have visited recommend Kirby cucumbers....

 

[Life in smoke]

Okay, that does it...I'm in!!

So, any best recommendations on where to buy jars, either specialty stores or online?

Looks like all the other necessities can be purchased at the market, and/or Whole Foods

My father was always big on recycling, so ive used all sorts of jars, as long as they seal up good, ive always used jars that had the two part lid, they seal very nicely and you can find them all over, i put some saran wrap between the lid and the bottle for an extra seal. This is just how i do it, not saying im right or that its the best way, but it has never failed me.

 

[rdomfoto]

I get my canning supplies on Amazon.

Hogfarmer, I've never made sauerkraut. You have a favorite recipe?

 

[Doug B]

Cool thread Clint...We make homemade pickles about every two weeks in my kitchen at work. Our usual variation is the thinly sliced sweet version that gets served with sandwiches and whatnot. I tweaked a recipe that I found in one of my cookbooks from school and they come out amazing. Spicy, sweet, and a little salty- a very nice balance. They take about 3 weeks to properly pickle so we are always trying to keep up- timing wise.
I just made a standard salty, dill, Vlassic-style, whole cucumber pickle about a month ago and they are coming along nicely. The recipe was really easy- whole garlic cloves, dill seed, salt, and some chili flakes I think. They should be ready in another month or so. Slicing the cucumbers first and then pouring over the brine takes much less time then pickling them whole.
Fooling with the recipes is fun and we do it quite often. Next for me (in the summer) will be an attempt at the Sweet Gherkin pickle which I love. It really is cool to taste the end result of your own pickles which are usually loads better than store-bought. Best time to do it is in the summer when you can get truckloads of cucumbers for next-to-nothing. Enjoy. Keep us posted!

 

[apnutter]

my grandpap and I take yellow Hungarian wax pepper (banana pepper) and stuff them with sauerkraut and pickle them. Pickled eggs are awesome too. I like mine heavy garlic and spicy! May have to do a batch, I just got very hungry.

 

[Lipher]

I make a banging Giardiniera ! Usually doesn't last long during the holidays

 

[rdomfoto]

Any of you guys use a pressure cooker for canning? I haven't - just been using the boiling water method. It's fine because my preserved foods usually don't last long wnough to reach the end of their shelf life but considering that to do double the amount of canning does not require double the energy or time, I am thinking about getting a pressure cooker and doing more canning at one time.

I found a recipe for preserved lemons - my wife LOVE lemon martinis so I am thinking that they'd kick ass in her drinks

 

[erjaq]

My fiance is giving a kimchi class in our kitchen this afternoon. That's Korean pickled cabbage, if you don't know. She also makes pickled cukes, daikon, eggs, beets, radishes...you name it. They're actually kind of addictive -- I find myself putting them on everything I eat.