garden goodies

[js]

been canning and pickling some things up the last couple nights. More tasty rewards for a little work. Got 5 quarts dill beans, 3 pints sliced jalapenos for some sammiches, 2 pints whole jalapenos just for eating,5 quarts dill pickles, and 1 hot dill pickle ( just added jalapenos in them). not a bad start.  will be dehydrating and blending up some hot peppers for spaghetti and pizza toppings, and maybe some home made hot sauce in a short while.

anyone else getting anything canned or pickled up yet?

[Brad H.]

Looks like some good groceries ya got there. Karma to ya.

[bk]

Nice work, js.  Looks like great eating.  Our beans are just starting to set, and lots of flowers on the cukes.  Hoping for a good year.  Seeing your hard work is making my mouth water. 

js, are you willing to share your dill pickle recipe?  I use Mom's but she must have left something out of it as 99% of the time the pickles are mushy - and I'm not a fan of mushy pickles.  My dillybeans seem to come out fine, oddly enough.

[brl]

Nice job JS! How are your potatoes doing?

[js]

Jul 7, 2015 21:54:19 GMT -5 bk said:

Nice work, js.  Looks like great eating.  Our beans are just starting to set, and lots of flowers on the cukes.  Hoping for a good year.  Seeing your hard work is making my mouth water. 

js, are you willing to share your dill pickle recipe?  I use Mom's but she must have left something out of it as 99% of the time the pickles are mushy - and I'm not a fan of mushy pickles.  My dillybeans seem to come out fine, oddly enough.

Wouldn't mind at all. Its outta a ball book from 97. 8lb cukes 4 to 6 inch long ( mine are usually longer) cut in half. 3/4 cup sugar 1/2 cupheated 1 quart viniger 1 quart water. 1 head of fresh dill in each jar. Then instead of mixing the pickling spices in the hot solution I just put it in the jars then add a little more dry dill to it. Get everything in the jars ( this makes 3 to 4 quarts depending on how packed your jars are) and boil for 15 minutes.

Mine come out mushy to most of the time. I've read it can be a number of things. To long of cooking time, over ripe cukes, solution or brine to weak. Ive also read for the real crunchy ones they are never heated and made in the refrigerator. Those are good to but don't keep as long and I came to see how you get your lids to seal for any length of storage.

[js]

Jul 8, 2015 6:52:27 GMT -5 brl said:

Nice job JS! How are your potatoes doing?

My tater bags seem to be doing good. Full of dirt and plants are sticking out about 3 feet so we shall see. I'll put some pictures up when I get home from work this eav.

[bk]

Jul 8, 2015 8:48:58 GMT -5 js said:

Jul 7, 2015 21:54:19 GMT -5 bk said:

Thanks, js.  That sounds 100% like Mom's recipe.  Bet I now know where she got it - an old Ball canning book.  Glad to know I'm not the only one with mushy pickles.  I sure agree about over ripe cukes and long cooking times - I've personal experience with both of those, and you are correct.  Weak brine makes sense. 

Have a friend that always adds alum (aluminum potassium sulfate) at rate of 1/2t to the quart to make the pickles crunchy.  That being said, I've also heard that adding too much will mush them even worse.

Think I'll have to do some experimenting.  Sure am interested in getting a nice crunch with a heated pickle.  If the commercial packers can do it, we should be able to do the same... somehow.

[js]

Jul 8, 2015 20:13:18 GMT -5 bk said:

Jul 8, 2015 8:48:58 GMT -5 js said:

Thanks, js.  That sounds 100% like Mom's recipe.  Bet I now know where she got it - an old Ball canning book.  Glad to know I'm not the only one with mushy pickles.  I sure agree about over ripe cukes and long cooking times - I've personal experience with both of those, and you are correct.  Weak brine makes sense. 

Have a friend that always adds alum (aluminum potassium sulfate) at rate of 1/2t to the quart to make the pickles crunchy.  That being said, I've also heard that adding too much will mush them even worse.

Think I'll have to do some experimenting.  Sure am interested in getting a nice crunch with a heated pickle.  If the commercial packers can do it, we should be able to do the same... somehow.

I've read that about the alum to. Kinda makes me nervous to try. This batch most of the cuke were on the to large and ripe side, so I did a pinch more vinager and salt. Well see if that helps.

[bk]

Let us know how your experiments turn out, js. I'll do the same. We can do this - its pickling, not rocket science.

[js]

Jul 8, 2015 20:37:47 GMT -5 bk said:

Let us know how your experiments turn out, js. I'll do the same. We can do this - its pickling, not rocket science.

Exactly! Its been done many moons before us, and will after us.

[cedar74]

I've tried the hot brine and just let them sit and the 10 minute boiling water bath method. I get better results without boiling the jars. I like crunchy pickles and I'm going to try the alum this year

[hunt4it]

Great post JS.  Now I have a hankering for a Bloody Mary with all this talk of spice and pickles! 

[bk]

Jul 13, 2015 15:56:28 GMT -5 cedar74 said:

I've tried the hot brine and just let them sit and the 10 minute boiling water bath method. I get better results without boiling the jars. I like crunchy pickles and I'm going to try the alum this year

I like crunchy pickles as well. Let us know how your alum works out. The crunchy pickle quest continues....