Making Pickles

Did you know that fresh cucumbers have spines, like cactus?  They do, and they're sharp! Supermarket cucumbers are already scrubbed free of spines, because they can damage other cucumbers during shipping.  I manage to get at least one spine lodged in my palm during every pickle session.  

Spines rub right off with a scrubby and cold water. My pink scrubby is from the dollar store and does a great job.  After I scrub each cucumber, I run my fingers over it to find any spines that may have been missed.  Then they go into a colander, so I don't keep grabbing the same one over and over.

After their bath, it's time to weigh to see how much brine to make.  Most brine recipes will make twice as much brine as needed.  Don't know why - just an observation.  I often will cut a brine recipe in half.  If cucumbers are growing like crazy in my garden, I know I'll be making more pickles in the next few days and then I'll make the full batch of brine and store leftovers in my fridge.

Time to cut off both ends.  The blossom end contains an enzyme that can make pickles soft and the stem end contains an inedible stem.  So, off they go.

Notice the pencil marks on my cutting board?  A 4" cucumber spear will fit perfectly in a pint jar.  The marks show me where to trim.

 Cut them in half lengthwise, then into 4 or 6 spears, depending on how fat the cucumber is.

Three pounds, 10 ounces of trimmed and sliced spears.  See the rounds on the left?  

And the trimmings on the left?  Salad.  If I have enough, I'll make a jar of Pickle Chunks.

I just removed this jar from a pot of boiling water.  As you lift out the jars, pour the water from some of them into another pot with lids and rings in it. Always prepare 2 more jars than you think you'll use and 2 LESS lids than you think you'll use.  Have them at hand, but don't heat until you've filled all the jars and KNOW you will use them. Unused jars can be put back on the shelf for next time, but once lids have been heated they must be used or tossed. 

Seasonings that were not in the brine go into the bottom of the hot jar.  These will be Garlic Dills, so I've added a peeled, raw garlic clove, a small dried bay leaf and some mustard seeds to the jar.

Grab a big handful of spears and drop them into the hot jar.  Pack a few more, one at a time, into any empty spaces.  You want them wedged firmly into the jar.

Ball Pickle Crisp is added.  This stuff is amazing.  Nice crisp pickles every time.

This is my First Genius Idea:  I make my brine in a stainless steel teapot that I don't use for anything else.  It is so much easier and tidier to pour the in the brine rather than ladling it.  

Second Genius Idea: I pour the boiling brine through a fine mesh strainer, because I don't care for the feeling of dill weed in my mouth when I eat pickles. 

Use a plastic knife to "bubble" the jar.  With brine in the jar, it's easier than you'd think to slide in the plastic knife.  Wiggle it gently between the jar sides and the pickles.  You'll be surprised how many bubbles come up.  The brine will sink down as the bubbles come up. Top it off with more brine. Cucumbers should be completely covered by brine.  Each recipe will tell you how much empty space to leave.

Wipe the jar rim with a clean damp cloth.  The sealing compound on the lids will not adhere if there is anything on the jar rim.

Use a magnetic tool to lift the lids and rings out of the hot, not boiling, water.  The hot water softens the sealing compound a bit so it adheres better.

I like to grab them both at the same time.

And use the tool to slide both onto the jar.    Screw only until resistance is met - finger tight. Screwing them too tightly won't let the air in the jar escape and either the lid will buckle and the pickles will be ruined, or the jar will break and the pickles will be ruined.

Lower the jars into the boiling water onto the rack.  The rack is necessary to a) lift the jars off of the pot so they don't roll around and break and b) allow boiling water to completely surround the jars.  The boiling water must be at least 1" over the top of the jars.  I have an electric kettle full of hot water that I use to top off the pot if needed. 

The water will stop boiling as you put the jars in.  Start timing the recipe after it returns to a boil.  Air will be escaping from the jars, which is good, but don't mistake that for boiling.  Look to see that the bubbles are coming from the bottom of the pot.

When the time is up, turn off the heat and lift the jars without tilting to a heatproof surface.  The sealing compound is still soft.  You could dislodge the lid and allow seepage.  If some seeps out, your seal will be ruined, and your pickles will have to be refrigerated and used quickly, which defeats the purpose of canning - to make them shelf stable (won't go bad at room temperature). 

Cover jars with a kitchen towel and leave undisturbed until completely cool.  Test each jar by pressing down with one finger in the center of the lid.  If it moves up and down and makes a clicking sound, the seal is bad.  Refrigerate and use within a couple weeks. 

Label the jars and include what's inside and the date.  It's surprisingly easy to forget what is in each jar (dill pickles? sweet pickles?).

Garlic Dills

Making pickles is pretty much foolproof.  Keep it sanitary, follow a recipe and you get pickles.  If you want to get good pickles, as opposed to pickles that are merely safe to eat, you have to try a few recipes and understand how the crisp gets into the pickle.  Cold will do it, salting before canning helps, but my secret is salting and using Ball Pickle Crisp*.

Cold pack pickles, such as Claussen, are put raw into cold sterilized jars, which are then filled with cold brine and the jars are refrigerated.  After a month or so you have great pickles.  The only problem is storage space.  I don't have room in my refrigerator for more than 2 jars of pickles.   My garden produces way more than 2 jars worth of cucumbers.  To keep jars of pickles safely at room temperature requires processing the jars in boiling water long enough to kill any bacteria and using a brine that has the proper pH.  Don't worry, you don't need a food chemistry degree.  You just need a recipe from a reliable source. 

Here's my favorite Garlic Dill recipe.  This recipe makes 2 quarts or 4 pints.  It's adapted** from The Complete Book of Year Round Small-Batch Preserving.  Small-batch is important to me, because my cucumbers ripen in small harvests.  The best pickles are made from fresh cucumbers.  They're harvested and kept refrigerated until I'm ready to can, usually the next day.  I've adapted the recipe in that I salt the cucumbers overnight, and use dried dill weed instead of dill seed.  I also added Ball Pickle Crisp.

3 lbs. small pickling cucumbers, scrubbed in cold water

2 tablespoons pickling salt

Brine:

2 cups white vinegar

2 cups water

2 additional tablespoons pickling salt

To add to jars:

4 teaspoons dried dill - Quarts: 2 teaspoons per jar, Pints: 1 teaspoon per jar

6 cloves garlic, peeled

Ball Pickle Crisp - Quarts: 1/4 rounded teaspoon per jar, Pints: 1/8 rounded teaspoon per jar

Cut 1/4" slice from both ends of cucumbers and discard.  The ends of cucumbers contain enzymes that can result in soft pickles. Cut each cucumber into 6 or 8 spears and place in a non-reactive container large enough to hold them all.  Add 2 tablespoons pickling salt and toss to coat.  Cover and allow to sit at least 3 hours and up to overnight in a cool place.  They don't have to be refrigerated, I place it in my cool basement.

Last night that container was full of sliced cucumbers and 2 tablespoons canning salt - no liquid.  The salt has drawn off all that extra juice.  Getting rid of the juice will help make the pickles crisp.  The pickles are drained and rinsed in cold water three times, then allowed to drain in a colander while I wash the jars and heat them in the canner.

The Ingredients

Having everything set out and ready to go makes for a stressless canning session. Fill the canner (or large tall stockpot) with cold tap water, add a rack to lift the jars off the bottom of the pot and begin heating. Wash 2 quart plus 1 pint or 5 pint jars in hot soapy water, rinse well and place upright into canner, allowing them to fill with water. (I always prepare 1 jar more than I think I'll need, just in case). When it's simmering, make the brine.  Combine brine ingredients in a small, non-reactive saucepan and bring to a boil. Once the jars are all full, you'll know how many lids to heat.  Heated lids can not be reused.

When the brine boils and the jars are simmering it's time to get started.  Take one jar at a time out of the canner and drain its water into a small pot.  You'll use it to heat your lids but won't need a fire under this pot.  The hot water softens the sealing compound on the jar lid so it will readily adhere to the jar.

Place the hot jar on its side on a towel lined countertop.  It's easier to fill the jar if it's laying down. Put the cucumber spears one at a time into the jar. When it's hard to slide more in, turn it upright and pack in more spears in between the ones already in the jar.  You want them to fit very tightly.  Add garlic, dill and Pickle Crisp and ladle in the boiling hot brine.  Use a long, thin, non-mettalic object (a spatula handle or chopstick works well) to 'bubble' the jars.  Wiggle it between the cucumbers and the inside of the jar to coax any air bubbles to the surface.  Top off the jars with additional brine to within 1/2" of the top of the jar.  Wipe the jar rim and rings with a damp paper towel to clean off any brine or seasonings.  Carefully add the lids, avoiding touching the inside of the lids and jar rims.  Add the rings and screw on until you just meet resistance.  Screwing it too tight will prevent the air from escaping, which it must do to form a vacuum. Other, more dire consequences are possible - see my Blowout post.

Have the water at a full boil and carefully lower the jars into the canner.  The water should be at least 1" above the top of the jars.  If necessary, add some of the hot water in the small pot back.  You'll see bubbles coming out of the jars - that's good. Begin timing when the water boils again. 

Ready for their nap.

When the processing time is finished, carefully remove the jars and place on a heat proof surface lined with a kitchen towel. Cover completely, top and all sides, with another towel. You want them to cool slowly. You'll hear the jars 'ping' as they cool, that tells you the jars have sealed.  Don't move the jars until they are completely cool - at least 12 hours.  Then test for seal by pressing gently on the top of the lid. If it moves, the seal failed; place the jar in the refrigerator and use like an opened jar. Don't forget to label the jars with contents and date.

My friends Penny and Leah wanted to learn how to can tomatoes.  We had a lot of fun!

*Ball Pickle Crisp makes pickles crisp without changing the pH of the recipe.

**You can safely add, change quantities or delete spices.  Do not change the quantities of salt, sugar, water and vinegar. 

Canning - Relish

We went to a wedding last weekend.  We only missed one day of harvesting cucumbers.  That night and the following day our neighborhood got 7" of rain.  Our rain monitor was overflowing.  That was all it took for the little baby cucumbers we had left on the vine to grow into monsters.  They were enormous!  Far too big to fit into canning jars, no matter how I sliced them.  What to do?  Make relish!

Here's my favorite relish recipe: Sweet and Snappy Zucchini Relish 

I simply substituted an equal amount of cucumbers for the zucchini called for in the recipe.

To get the best results:

• drain the salty mixture in a colander
• rinse the bowl it was in and put the drained veggies back in the bowl
• fill the bowl with cold water and swish it around
• drain it in the colander
• taste the water draining out - if it's very salty, repeat the rinsing and draining several times if necessary.

Then squeeze out excess liquid.  Dump it in a large kitchen towel (that you don't mind getting stained) and squeeze it firmly several times over the sink.  You will be amazed at how much additional liquid comes out!  You don't want to squeeze it dry.

I made a triple batch, but only got 7 half pints because I squeezed out way more moisture than I ever did before.  I'm a little worried it will be too thick. We'll see.

All that work, so satisfying to see those cute little jars.  Then it was time for us to harvest.  There are 5 pounds of new cucumbers, but these at least will fit into the jars.  I have plans for them: Dill Relish (my darling daughter's favorite), Garlic Dill Pickles, and Bread and Butter Pickles.  When those are done there are tomatoes and zucchini and yellow squash and eggplant and green beans - oh, my!

Let the Canning Begin! Tomatoes

My husband grows an amazing garden.  I cook and can.  It's a match made in heaven.  Yesterday, we picked 4 lbs of green beans, 5 lbs of tomatoes and at least 6 lbs of cucumbers.

Today I canned tomatoes.  Figure on 1 pound of tomatoes for each pint jar.

Assemble your equipment:
This looks like a lot of equipment, but a package of jars will come with lids and rings and you can buy a canning kit for around $15 that will contain all the items I've marked with an asterisk*.  There are even coupons available! Canning kit 6/6 Red Plum newspaper insert. Jars, lids, rings 6/27 Red Plum.

heat proof working surface
tall stock pot
a rack that will fit inside the stock pot
deep saucepan
canning jars (pint), washed and inspect to be free of cracks or chips
canning lids
canning rings
jar tongs*
canning funnel*, optional but nice
spider spatula (looks like a spider web) or large slotted spoon
large bowl full of ice and water
large bowl to put the peeled tomatoes in
garbage bowl to put the skins and cores in
large rimmed cookie sheet
cutting board that will fit inside the rimmed cookie sheet to catch the juice
small thin non-metallic spatula*
hot pads
dish towels that can be stained
paper towels

Assemble your ingredients:
fresh tomatoes
lemon juice (bottled)
canning salt (optional)

You will use the stock pot to water bath (boil) the filled jars.  Place the rack inside the stock pot; fill 2/3 full with water, cover and heat. Using the jar tongs, carefully plunge the jars into the tall stock pot, allowing them to fill with water.  Cover and boil to sterilize jars while you prepare the tomatoes.

You will use the smaller pot to scald the tomatoes.  Fill 2/3 full with water, cover and bring to boil.  Wash tomatoes in plain cold water and pull off the stems and calyxes (green).  If any tomatoes have split skins, set them aside to use fresh today.  Split tomatoes spoil rapidly.  Using one in canning may ruin the entire batch.

Place the cutting board inside a rimmed cookie sheet. It will catch the tomato juice.

When the water in the smaller pan comes to a boil, lower 4-5 tomatoes into the water.  When the skins split, remove with spider spatula into the bowl of ice water.

Leave it in the ice water for a minute or two or until you can pick it up with your bare hand.  Pull on the skin; it will slide right off.  Put the skins in the garbage bowl. When all the tomatoes in the pan have been put in the ice water, add 4 or 5 more tomatoes to the simmering water.

Cut the peeled tomatoes into chunks, putting them into a bowl as you cut them. Cut away any green parts and discard.  Sometimes you will find mold inside a tomato near the seeds.  Throw the entire tomato away; wash the knife and cutting board before continuing.

Repeat the process until all tomatoes have been peeled and chunked.  Turn off the heat on the smaller pan, you won't use it any more.

Using the jar tongs, remove one jar from the stock pot and pour its' water back into the pot.

Place the jar on your heat proof working surface.  Add 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon canning salt (if using) and 1 teaspoon lemon juice to the jar.  The lemon juice assures that the acidity of the tomatoes is safe for water bath canning.  The salt is purely for seasoning and can be omitted.  (I don't use salt in tomatoes).

Using your impeccably clean hands (or a spoon) and canning funnel, add chunked tomatoes to the jar, pressing down so that the juice comes up.  Leave 1/2" space between the top of the tomatoes and the top of the jar.

Release any trapped air bubbles by working the thin non-metallic spatula between the inside of the jar and the tomatoes, while pressing the tomatoes down to keep them from spilling out.  Repeat until all tomatoes are in jars.

Put the rings and lids in the stock pot to sterilize them. 
Wet a paper towel and wipe clean the rims and threads of the jars.

Carefully remove one lid at a time and without touching the inside of the lid or jar, place on jars.  Remove one ring at a time and screw onto jar just until finger tight (first sign of resistance).  You don't want them so tight that the air can't escape - your jar will shatter or the air pressure will blow the contents out.

Once all jars are full, wiped, lidded and ringed you are ready to water bath process (boil) them.

The water in the stock pot must be boiling.
Using the jar tongs, carefully place each jar into the stock pot. 
Take care that the jars have space between them, so they don't knock together and so that water can freely circulate.
The water will stop boiling while you are loading the jars.
After all jars are in and the water returns to a boil, start timing.
Process for 10 minutes (pint jars).
Spread out a kitchen towel on your heat proof surface.
When the time is up, turn off the burner and carefully remove the jars.
Set them on the kitchen towel and cover with another towel to cool slowly.

When the jars have cooled, check for seal by pressing down on the center of each lid.  If the lid moves, REFRIGERATE AND USE WITHIN A COUPLE DAYS. Don't attempt to reprocess - it will be over-cooked.
Label the jars with the date and contents.  It's remarkably easy to forget what is inside the jars.  Hmm - tomatoes? salsa?
Store in a cool, dry, dark place.  Like shelves in your basement.

If when opened, the tomatoes don't look right (foamy, moldy) or smell right DON'T TASTE, throw them away.  It's not worth your health.
That being said, I've only had 1 batch of tomatoes go bad.  I used a tomato with a split skin.  Three days after canning, the jars of tomatoes looked foamy.  Out they went!