I had my first go at pickle making recently. I had found some fresh dill at Metro and thought pickles might be fun. I went first to my mom--she used to always make dill pickles when we were growing up. She said she used the brine recipe from the More with Less cookbook. Knowing my mom's pickles were good, I started with that. I did a little more research about homemade dill pickles and found that a lot of recipes call for pickling spice. I looked up some pickling spice mixes and found they have all kinds of crazy things in them. Only a few of which I had. So I tossed in a little of this and a little of that and ended up with some decent pickles. I tried water bath canning some of them because I had some Ball canning lids and our large turkey frying pot. I also just did some directly in the refrigerator. Both worked nicely. I actually thought the refrigerator ones had a little more crunch than the ones I canned. I also tried some with just dried dill and not fresh--they actually had great flavor, too. Anyway, here's the recipe and there are a few notes at the bottom! It was all super easy to do!
Dill Pickles
Small sized cucumbers (larger cucumbers will be really seedy)
1 garlic clove per jar
1 sprig of dill per jar (or about 1/4-1/2 tsp dried dill depending on size of jar)
A pinch or two of peppercorns (opt)
Pinch of celery seed, mustard seeds, crushed red pepper, whole allspice, bay leaf (opt)
Brine:
3 1/4 cups water
1 1/2 cups white vinegar
1/4 cup salt
Prep washed cucumbers by slicing or spearing--just whatever you need to do for the size of your jars. You can keep whole if they fit, of course. Sterilize glass jars in boiling water. In bottom of warm jars, place peeled garlic clove (whole), dill, and any other spices you want to add. Fill with cucumbers. Mix together brine ingredients and bring to a boil. Pour immediately into jars. If you are planning to can them, leave about 1/4-1/2 inch space at the top. Seal on lids. If just making refrigerator pickles, allow to sit at room temperature for about 3-4 hours and then refrigerate for at least 24 hours before eating. This brine made enough for 5 pint-sized jars--just multiply for amount you need.
Water Bath Canning:
I'm a total rookie at this, but just followed the recipe in cookbook and a tip or two from my mom. If you have the jars and lids used for canning, you can do a simple water bath canning method. In a large pot, with a rack in the bottom (you don't want jars to sit directly against the pot), bring water to a boil. Place sealed jars in boiling water (water should cover jars) for 5 minutes. Remove and allow to cool.
Original recipe recommended waiting 2 weeks to eat canned pickles, but I don't think you have to wait that long!
Notes: I actually liked the refrigerator pickles as much as I did the ones I canned--they were crispier. As for spices, I added a pinch of peppercorns, celery seed, and mustard seed to my jars. I actually had this random jar of mixed color peppercorns that included some whole allspice, so some of those were in mine, too. My mom used to make this with just fresh dill and the brine though. The other stuff is just extra if you want to change up the flavor a bit.
China People: Did you know that Mason or Ball canning lids fit Kewpie mayo jars?! They work on both the medium (pint-sized?) and large ones (available at Metro). All the jars I canned were old Kewpie jars.
Dill Pickles
Small sized cucumbers (larger cucumbers will be really seedy)
1 garlic clove per jar
1 sprig of dill per jar (or about 1/4-1/2 tsp dried dill depending on size of jar)
A pinch or two of peppercorns (opt)
Pinch of celery seed, mustard seeds, crushed red pepper, whole allspice, bay leaf (opt)
Brine:
3 1/4 cups water
1 1/2 cups white vinegar
1/4 cup salt
Prep washed cucumbers by slicing or spearing--just whatever you need to do for the size of your jars. You can keep whole if they fit, of course. Sterilize glass jars in boiling water. In bottom of warm jars, place peeled garlic clove (whole), dill, and any other spices you want to add. Fill with cucumbers. Mix together brine ingredients and bring to a boil. Pour immediately into jars. If you are planning to can them, leave about 1/4-1/2 inch space at the top. Seal on lids. If just making refrigerator pickles, allow to sit at room temperature for about 3-4 hours and then refrigerate for at least 24 hours before eating. This brine made enough for 5 pint-sized jars--just multiply for amount you need.
Water Bath Canning:
I'm a total rookie at this, but just followed the recipe in cookbook and a tip or two from my mom. If you have the jars and lids used for canning, you can do a simple water bath canning method. In a large pot, with a rack in the bottom (you don't want jars to sit directly against the pot), bring water to a boil. Place sealed jars in boiling water (water should cover jars) for 5 minutes. Remove and allow to cool.
Original recipe recommended waiting 2 weeks to eat canned pickles, but I don't think you have to wait that long!
Notes: I actually liked the refrigerator pickles as much as I did the ones I canned--they were crispier. As for spices, I added a pinch of peppercorns, celery seed, and mustard seed to my jars. I actually had this random jar of mixed color peppercorns that included some whole allspice, so some of those were in mine, too. My mom used to make this with just fresh dill and the brine though. The other stuff is just extra if you want to change up the flavor a bit.
China People: Did you know that Mason or Ball canning lids fit Kewpie mayo jars?! They work on both the medium (pint-sized?) and large ones (available at Metro). All the jars I canned were old Kewpie jars.
Do you know anywhere in China where canning lids are available?
ReplyDeleteI brought some from the US and paired them with local jars. I have not actually looked for them in China or on Taobao, though that's where I'd start. I did read in the MWL cookbook that if you have a jar with a lid that has a little bit of a rubber seal around the edge that you can repurpose those and seal them again in a water bath. I tried it with a honey jar I had that the lid seemed would work and it sealed really nicely. You might experiment though and see if that works for you. I always thought you couldn't use a canning lid once it had been used. Anyone else have experience with this?! I'm a total canning rookie!
ReplyDeletehttp://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a1z10.3.31.2.227ce9&id=15842940007 This seller has lots of canning jars--you might could chat with them about lids.
ReplyDelete