Pickle time!

[jcam222]

Just started a batch in a gallon jar. I was gifted 10 of these gallon pickle jugs from the school ballfield concessions. Great for fermenting. Will try these on Friday. I like m ok me fairly sour so may go longer. Threw in some oak leaves from the tree out front for tannins. I intended to make two gallons and add hot peppers to do me but half the cukes frozen in my garage frig. Think I choose to replace it with a garage ready frig. Tied of losing produce and things to it. Here are a couple shots of my jar.

 

[02ebz06]

We love cucumbers and pickles.
Guess that is something else to add to my food making repertoire. Haha

 

[Steve H]

Mine are in the fridge to slow down the ferment. They are delicious!

 

[PulledPorkSandwich]

Just started a batch in a gallon jar. I was gifted 10 of these gallon pickle jugs from the school ballfield concessions. Great for fermenting. Will try these on Friday. I like m ok me fairly sour so may go longer. Threw in some oak leaves from the tree out front for tannins. I intended to make two gallons and add hot peppers to do me but half the cukes frozen in my garage frig. Think I choose to replace it with a garage ready frig. Tied of losing produce and things to it. Here are a couple shots of my jar. View attachment 672759View attachment 672760

These look great! I need to get off my butt and get to the farmers' market and get some cucumbers, but it's so darn hot here I'm reluctant to go outside!

I understand the need for tannins. Will any oak leaf work? I've got a live oak out front with plenty of leaves but they have a bit of a different look from other oak leaves.

 

[Steve H]

I understand the need for tannins. Will any oak leaf work? I've got a live oak out front with plenty of leaves but they have a bit of a different look from other oak leaves.

If the cukes are fresh and firm. And cold before fermenting. I've hadn't needed the tannins. They always come out crunchy. You can add pickle crisp to the ferment if you wish.

 

[jcam222]

These look great! I need to get off my butt and get to the farmers' market and get some cucumbers, but it's so darn hot here I'm reluctant to go outside!

I understand the need for tannins. Will any oak leaf work? I've got a live oak out front with plenty of leaves but they have a bit of a different look from other oak leaves.

It's my understanding any will work. I usually just throw a couple black tea bags in a gallon jug but didn't have any. I have two huge oak trees so figured I'd give it a try.

 

[cptnding]

Pickle crisp works great. Especially if you're going to store them for a while. A few years back we pickled some cukes with and without pickle crisp to see if it really made a difference. After a month there was little to no difference. At 2-3 months in there was a noticeable difference in how crunchy they were. At 6 months it was night and day difference.
Back in June I found an unopened pint of bread and butter chips that got buried and lost in the beer fridge. They were just shy of 11 months old and much to our surprise they were still nice and crispy.
In my opinion if you're only going to make a couple of jars and eat them in a month there's no need for it. But if you're going put up a bunch this time of year while pickling cukes are cheap and plentiful it is definitely worth using it. We use Ball Pickle Crisp and a little jar of it costs about $6ish at the grocery store. It goes a long long way. Only takes a 1/4 tsp per quart.
For the record we are making refrigerator pickles. Used to low temp water bath can them but decided the refrigerated ones are so much better it was worth taking up the space in the beer fridge.

 

[jcam222]

Steve H ok a whim I tried my first batch which is at 3 days. They taste pretty great. I'll probably put them in the frig at 5-6 days at the latest. Info on the net on ferment time for half sours is all over the place. I see a range of 3 days to 2 weeks and for full sours up to a month.

 

[Steve H]

Steve H ok a whim I tried my first batch which is at 3 days. They taste pretty great. I'll probably put them in the frig at 5-6 days at the latest. Info on the net on ferment time for half sours is all over the place. I see a range of 3 days to 2 weeks and for full sours up to a month.

I ferment for a week on the counter. Then in the fridge. After a week in the fridge I'm getting good half sours.

These are at 3 weeks. 1 week on the counter. 2 weeks in the fridge. They have perfect 1/2 sour flavor. And the crunch is great. For me. The flavor just isn't there until they have been chilled.
Edit: I haven't done full sours yet. But after I come back from vacation they'll be at 5 weeks. I'll let you know.