She Laughed at My Pickles

She Laughed at My Pickles



Earlier this month, Vital Information, C2, Paul Virant (Vie) and I went to Muncie to visit the Ball test kitchens. We brought some jars of stuff we’d canned. When Lauren Devine, author of the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving, bit into one of the pickles I’d put by last year, she started giggling, then laughing, wondering aloud what the hell I put into them. Everyone thought they were edible, however, which is more than I'd say for them; though they were not a total failure, uncontrollable laughter was not what I was hoping for with my pickles.

Hearing of my plight, LTH poster Paulette sent me a recipe for kosher dills. I tried hers, then spun out two variations. Here are the recipes:

#1: Paulette’s Kosher Dills
Hot water to fill
Kosher salt: 1 tbl
Pickling spice: 1 tbl
Fresh dill

#2: Garlic/Vinegar Dills
Hot water to fill
Kosher salt: 1 tbl
Pickling spice: 1 tbl
Fresh dill
Garlic
Vinegar: 2 tbl

#3: Basil Pickles
Hot water to fill
Kosher salt: 1 tbl
Pickling spice: 1 tsp
Fresh basil
Garlic
Vinegar: 2 tbl
Few shakes of crushed red pepper

I used small cucumber pickles I picked up at the OP Farmer’s Market (about $3.50 for enough pickles to fill two Ball jars). Each batch was made in a different Ball jar, which I kept on my kitchen counter for 2.5 days before refrigerating and stopping the pickling process. We all liked Paulette’s version; the Wife liked most the pickles that had vinegar and garlic added, and she felt the Basil Pickles (pictured above) were interesting, in a good way. I liked them all because I just like pickles (except for that first batch I made last year).

Thanks for the credit Dave. I'm glad you enjoyed them.

I have to tell you that this morning getting ready to make the first pickles of the year I went to the bag of pickles from Saturdays Farmers Market in Deerfield and found them all moldy so now I have to wait until the weekend to start again. I think I'll try a different farmer this time.

Oh a question about pickling pickled tomatoes. If you haven't guessed the pickle recipe is an old family recipe. My aunt who used to make the pickles and tomotoes every year died in 1986 and with her died the pickled tomato recipe. I tried making them the same way as the pickles but they weren't like the deli. I know she used the same ingredients plus one other thing. What that one other thing was I have no idea, does anyone know.

Paulette