Fermenting Pickles.... my first attempt.... Update 10/8/12

[thoseguys26]

Dave, what was the amount of salt per cup of water to get 5%?

 

[daveomak]

1 quart = 32 oz.... 5% of 32 oz = 1.6 oz / qt.  = 0.4 oz / cup  =  11.3 grs salt / cup.....   That is the way I have to figure out this stuff....   

or  32 oz x 28.35 grs/oz = 907 grs/qt  /  4 = 226 grs./cup @ 5% =  11.3 grs salt/cup for a 5% solution... 

Volume measurement is too inaccurate to get any kind of consistency.....   Dave

 

[thoseguys26]

I'm right behind you Dave, thanks for the info and the help and the experiment!

Screen Shot 2012-08-26 at 12.18.03 AM.jpg

• thoseguys26
• Aug 26, 2012

 

[daveomak]

Results are in...Taste test today..... 6 weeks pickling time....at 66 deg F.... 

Batch #1 was bland, not very crisp..... kinda not too good, but edible...  not salty to me.....  I'll have to find someway to improve them... don't want to throw them out.... liquor in the jar remained clear throughout the aging process....

Batch #2 was somewhat flavorful, fairly crisp, in fact better than some store bought for crispness.... not enough dill or garlic or heat flavor and not salty.....  the jar was cloudy during the aging process... maybe it had to do with less salt and/or horseradish leaf....  darned if I know..... I think I could slightly taste the tannin, not sure there either.... 

Diggy suggeested the 5% brine.... (read diggy's post #2)  I'm sticking to that brine mix....  Horseradish leaves being bigger might be why more tannin and the crisper pickle...  I'll contemplate that...   A lot more dill, garlic and hot peppers and we may have something that closely resembles a decent dill pickle...  I like the fresh taste better than vinegar I think.... It is different... more like "real" food...

OK, take it for what it is worth.... that is my test for this year..... I put the jars in the fridge and will taste them in another month or so....  

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Batch #1

All the reading I did and surfing the web, I decided to buy a book....  Fermenting for Idiots or something like that....  

I had to tweak the recipe a bit and I am looking for help, if the salt amount is correct.... the recipe called for 1 Tbs of (fine sea salt) per cup of water.... Since all I had was pickling salt, I measured 1 Tbs and weighed it.... It weighed about 18-19 grams so I rounded the amount for simplicity to 20 grams per cup of distilled water.....  Is that OK.??... within guidelines ??  I suppose the taste test will tell the truth.... My concern is there were no guidelines for wt. / wt. ingredients (as if this was not scientific and "close" was OK....)  

13    ----       4"pickles

10   -----      crushed cloves garlic

4     -----      chili japones

1       ---       grape leaf........   rinsed if necessary (freshly picked from the garden)(next batch I may use 2-4, depending on the tannin taste and crispness)  

                   The grape leaf is supposed to add tannin to keep the cukes crisp or use black tea or horseradish leaf....

4 cups ----   distilled water

80 grams   ---    Morton's pickling salt (I may switch to Sea Salt for added minerals)  

Dill weed   ---  All that was left from brides pickling cukes....  not that much as you can see....

Jar and stuff was washed with hot soapy water, rinsed w/hot water, rinsed w/vinegar.....

cukes -- flower ends cut off...... scrubbed...... iced for an hour...  

garlic, dill, chili's, grape leaf added to the jar..... salt dissolved in the distilled water.....  chilled cukes added to the jar..... brine added to the jar..... lid w/airlock screwed onto the jar..

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OK..... Here is batch #2....    5% pickling salt brine solution...(per Diggy)...  and 1 horseradish leaf.....  

So now we have an 8.8% and a 5% brine mix to test the saltiness and a grape leaf and a horseradish leaf for tannins and crispiness to the pickles....  Fermenting is so easy and fast preparation time..... I really am looking forward to the taste test....  

Spices are the same as batch #1.... can't change too much stuff at one time....  DUH.. 

 

[whistech]

I found this site has information on pickles that you are making.     The product they are trying to sell looks similar to your homemade version.

http://www.pickl-it.com/blog/636/brine-recommendations/

 

[dirtsailor2003]

the favorite are the jalapenos. 

I'd like to know more about those! My better half has been asj=king me to pickle some up!