Putting Food By - Janet Greene [151]
If you harvest your cucumbers piecemeal over a period of, say, two weeks, lay ½ cup pickling salt on the plate when the crock is half full, and add another ½ cup salt when the crock is filled; thereafter, add ¼ cup salt each week until the pickles are ready.
A gray-white film will appear on the surface of the brine after the cucumbers have been in the pickling solution a few days: skim it off, and keep removing it as it forms. The film is to be expected as a natural part of the brining process, but if allowed to stay on the pickles it will hurt the acidity of the pickling solution, and your pickles will spoil.
When there’s no more film, and your pickles test evenly clear to the center, start enjoying them. Always replace the weighted plate after taking any out, and cover the crock to keep the contents clean.
Canning. If the conditions for storing your crock of pickles are not good, or if you foresee that you can’t eat them all within their storage life of several months—can them.
Take all the pickles from the brine, and fit them vertically in clean pint or quart jars, leaving ¾ inch of headroom. From the pickling solution remove any dill heads (and the mustard seed, if you like); bring the solution to boiling, and pour it over the pickles, leaving ½ inch of headroom. Remove trapped air with the blade of a plastic knife, adjust lids with their clean fresh rubbers or sealers. Process using the low-temperature pasteurization treatment, page 320, or in a Boiling–Water Bath (212 F/100 C)—10 minutes for pints, 15 minutes for quarts. Remove jars; complete seals if using bailed jars.
• Adjustment for my altitude if B–W processing _________________.
(“Short-Form”) Bread-and-Butter Pickles
12 pints
6 quarts of thinly sliced pickling cucumbers (about fifteen 6-inch)
6 medium onions, thinly sliced
½ cup pickling salt
1½ quarts distilled white vinegar
4½ cups sugar
½ cup whole mustard seed
1 tablespoon celery seed
Wash cucumbers, remove stem and blossom ends, slice thin on the broad blade of a food grater, or on the thin-slicing disc of a food processor. Peel onions, slice thin. Put sliced vegetables in an enameled, crockery, or stainless steel bowl, combine them with the ½ cup of pickling salt; let stand 3 hours, then drain well but do not rinse. Meanwhile combine the vinegar, sugar, mustard, and celery seed in a large stainless steel or enameled kettle and bring to a boil. When boiling, add the cucumber and onion slices; over medium heat, bring to a low boil, and pack immediately in clean, hot 1-pint jars, leaving a good ½ inch of headroom. Put on hot disc lids and screw the bands firmly tight. Process using the low-temperature pasteurization treatment, page 320, or in a Boiling–Water Bath (212 F/100 C) for 10 minutes. Remove; cool upright and naturally.
Good because they’re simple. The slicing disc of a food processor is grand help here. Allow several weeks for the flavor to develop. Also maybe made with crisp young zucchini.
• Adjustment for my altitude if B–W processing _________________.
Watermelon Pickles
4 pints
8 cups prepared watermelon rind
½ cup pickling salt
4 cups cold water
4 cups sugar
2 cups distilled white vinegar
cups water
4 teaspoons whole cloves
Choose thick rind. Trim from it all dark skin and remains of pink flesh; cut in 1-inch cubes. Dissolve salt in cold water, pour it over rind cubes to cover (add more water if needed); let stand 5 to 6 hours. Drain; rinse well. Cover with fresh water and cook until barely tender—no more than 10 minutes (err on the side of crispness); drain. Combine sugar, vinegar, and water; add cloves tied in a cloth bag. Bring to boiling; reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Pour over rind cubes, let stand overnight. Bring all to boiling and cook until rind is translucent but not at all mushy—about 10 minutes. Remove spice bag, pack cubes in hot sterilized pint jars; add boiling syrup, leaving ½ inch of headroom; adjust lids. Process in a Boiling–Water Bath (212 F/100 C) for