1 st time easy pickle recipe

[ineedabiggaboat]

any suggestions??

[Katra]

Easiest pickle recipe I've used for pickled Okra was to buy a jar of Claussen's pickles, eat them, then keep the brine and drop the washed Okra into the jar with a little extra fresh dill and leave in the refrigerator. ;-) Picked up a wonderful flavor after about 2 weeks.

Cheating, I know, but it worked and mom loved them!

K.

[ineedabiggaboat]

Thats a great idea!!! What about temperature? Refrigeration? Its hot here in LI and I dont think the garage is cool enuff yet.

[JRYezierski]

couple quarts of water bring to boil and add kosher salt to taste. you like salty pickles than make the brine salty,not very salty thats ok to just less salt. get about 10 grape leaves or so,couple of bunchs of dill line the bottom gallon jar/crock or whatever you are going to put the cukes in with the grape leaves,add some cukes(sliced,whole whatever)add some dillll and garlic(if you want) ,layer this with the grape leaves.Do not be afraid to pack them tighly, now add the brine while it is very warm. cover loosly,place in dark area thats not cold(otherwise it will take days for your pickles to be ready. Check in three days and they should be ready,if not than wait another day or so. Do not be alarm if there is "stuff"growing thats ok. Grape leaves are for the alum(sp?)to keep them crisp not soggy after a few days or so. This is a very quick way my Bobchi did them known as quick dills or 3day pickles. Enjoy\ I have another one thats ready in one day that is sweeter.

[Katra]

I just kept them in the 'frige... :-) No heating, no cooking, nada, and no spoilage.

K.

[---pete---]

Katra, I've also been doing as you suggested above. I cut my cucumbers lengthwise into quarters and trim the ends so they fit into the jars of left over pickle jiuce. I've found that within a few days they picked up enough flavor to eat them.

Of course, I keep them stored in the refrigerator and have stored them a month or so. I'll keep adding new cucumbers to that batch as I eat them, but after 2 months I throw out the brine for fear of spoilage. Anyone know more about the spoilage issue using this particular method?

--pete---

[---pete---]

------ Yeah, I do the same thing with cucumbers and I felt like it was cheating but I have to be honest, I've tried various cucumber pickling recipes over the years and never liked the way they came out. Heating the brine seems to make the pickles mushy and I always found the brine to be way too strong in flavor.

Question is, how can we make our own brine that is similar to the leftover store bought pickle juice, to be used just for making quick pickles to be kept in the refrigerator for a month or so?

---pete---

[Katra]

I toss the brine if it begins to get a little cloudy... There is so much salt in there, it seems to last a good while. I feel fairly safe refrigerating it. :-)

Thanks for the input!

K.

[---pete---]

Jerome, I'm in USA/New Jersey, where can I get grape leaves if I don't have a source of wild ones?

---pete---

[---pete---]

------ Yep, once it gets cloudy I toss it out too. That's how I derived at the period of 1 month or so to keep the pickles stored in the refrigerator. I still wonder what is the safe amount of time before it spoils.

---pete---

[JRYezierski]

"---pete---" you said

Try this recipie you should be pleased Pickles Quick Dill

1cup white vinegar 1/2 cup sugar 4 cups water 1/4 cup kosher salt/sea salt Bring to boil and taste for sweetness/saltiness and adjust to your taste. Let cool to room temp. 1 TBL whole mustard seed 1TBL mixed whole spices (pickling spices) Garlic cloves and onion(your personal amount) about 8 or so grape leaves Dill (again your personal amount) In a gallon container pack the cukes in tightly(sliced or whole with the dill/garlic and grape leaves. Add the bine which has the spices in it and let cool completly on counter (so you dont crack the container)than refrigerate. Pickles will be ready in about 2days

This may not be EXACLTLY like store bought but "Try It You'll Like It"

Your cukes get mushy as they need alum to stay crunchy. Grape leaves have alum in them so use grape leaves instead any type will do .I often use the wild ones growing on the edge of our field. Folks who try this please let me know how it came out for you.

Jerome

[JRYezierski]

[Stan Goodman]

1) There are probably fox grapes growing in the woods, if there are still any woods left standing in New Jersey. 2) Visit an ethnic grocery catering to customers of Middle-Eastern, Greek, or Turkish background. You can buy a whold jar full of them, intended for use in making e.g. stuffed vine leaves. You can do yourself a great favor if you use some of the surplus for that purpose. For recipes on how to do this, do a Google search on "stuffed vine leaves" or "dolma" or "dolmata". Google is a far more useful place than a gardening newsgroup for digging up recipes. After you press the Enter key, get out of the way quickly, lest you be deluged by the large number of hits.

[---pete---]

------ Ok, thanks for the info. In any case, I can see now that it's not going to be easy for me to find grape leaves.

---pete---

[Anna]

Pete, try at your local farmer's market -- talk to anyone selling homegrown grapes. They'll bring you lots next market day.

Anna