Does anyone have an opinion on this recipe?

http://recipes.mrswages.com/recipedetail.aspx?id=1454

The recipe you linked above would not be considered a safe one to use since it has 2x as much water as vinegar. The minimum recommended ratio is 1:1 vinegar to water when using an untested recipe..

Approved pickling recipes are easy to find in both the Ball canning books and at NCHFP (National Center for Home Food Preservation) linked below. Unfortunately that are many UNsafe recipes out there on the web so until you understand all the underlying safety issues it is best to stick with only approved and tested recipes.

The Mrs. Wages Mixes are safe to use since they have citric acid added to them to insure proper acidity levels. Whether you will like the flavor or not I can't say.

But whichever recipe you use you add only what the recipe calls for, no extras. And you process for the time and in the size jars the recipe calls for. Most but not all approved pickle recipes call for 10 min for pints and 15 min for quarts.

Hope this helps.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: NCHFP - Pickling Guidelines and Recipes

Thanks for the information, based on their recipe, it is not a 1:1 ratio for vinegar. I must not be understanding it. Any additional help is appreciated :)

http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_06/dill_pickles.html

How do I? ...Ferment
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Preparing and Canning Fermented Foods
Dill Pickles
Use the following quantities for each gallon capcity of your container.

4 lbs of 4-inch pickling cucumbers
2 tbsp dill seed or 4 to 5 heads fresh or dry dill weed
1/2 cup salt
1/4 cup vinegar (5 percent)
8 cups water and one or more of the following ingredients:
2 cloves garlic (optional)
2 dried red peppers (optional)
2 tsp whole mixed pickling spices (optional)

The difference is between a fermented pickle and a quick pack pickle. Two entirely different ways of making pickles and they cannot be interchanged or mixed together.

There are basically 4 ways to make pickles. Each is a totally different method with totally different recipes. quick pack, fermented, pasteurized, and refrigerator

The recipe you linked above from Mrs. Wages is a quick pack pickle recipe, the pickles go fresh into the jars and brine is poured over them. So the safety of them is totally dependent on the amount of vinegar that goes into the jar with them. But that recipe calls for 2 quarts of water and only 1 quart of vinegar. Since it is an untested recipe, to be safe it should be at least the same amount of vinegar as water.

The recipe you listed above is for making fermented pickles (like sauerkraut is fermented). The cucumbers are first fermented in a crock or large container made for fermentation in the brine for several weeks before they go into the jars to be canned. In fermented pickles it is the lactic acid that is made in the fermentation crock that makes them safe.

The General Pickling Information page at NCHFP explains all about the different ways of making pickles and I direct linked it below.

The Ball books for canning also explains the differences in the methods.

Dave

PS: all recipes from NCHFP have been tested and approved in the lab so they are safe to use.

Here is a link that might be useful: Canning Fermented and Pickled Foods

ok, I'm reading more and more. I'll play the newbie card again. I was seeing all these videos on boiling water method. I was thinking that was the method I would use and was just looking for a recipe for that. When I go to the link on NCHFP, I don't see recipes for that. I'm sure I'm missing something, I guess I'm not connecting the dots.
http://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/uga/using_bw_canners.html

I do appreciate your time in helping me!!

Ok, I'm rather a newbie, especially with pickles. I just WBed some Bread&Butter Mrs Wages Pickles and have found that my chunks (about 1") of pickling cukes are floating in the brine. Is that normal? or should I do something else? I've turned the jars upside down (after sealing and cooling), hoping that the chunks will absorb the brine better and finally look 'normal'.

I was seeing all these videos on boiling water method. I was thinking that was the method I would use and was just looking for a recipe for that. When I go to the link on NCHFP, I don't see recipes for that. I'm sure I'm missing something,

Yeah, need to explore all the NCHFP index and links much more. First ALL pickles are boiling water bath (BWB) canned IF they are canned. Fermented pickles are usually not canned but may be and refrigerator pickles are not canned, just stored in the fridge.

All the quick pack pickling recipes are Here. Just click on the Cucumber Pickles link and you get These recipes to click on.

If you want fermented pickles then the recipe is Here
____________

have found that my chunks (about 1") of pickling cukes are floating in the brine. Is that normal?

Some pickles naturally float for a while but they will eventually sink. This is because of the air in the cukes and is especially true if the cukes are not freshly harvested, hollow, or if used in large chunks. B&B pickles are normally slices not chunks but either way they are safe and over the weeks of shelf storage most of them will settle.

Inverting the jars is not recommended as it may break the seal.

Dave

PS: if neither of you own a copy of the Ball Blue Book of Canning (aka BBB) you really need to as all the basics are covered in the book as well as on NCHFP. The book costs about $6 and is sold anywhere canning supplies are sold as well as online.

Dave, I have several copies of BBB (I call it my canning Bible). I'm glad to hear that they might float for awhile.

Another question, Indiana requires 'traditionally' processed pickles (phrased in 1 doc) or fermented (in another doc). I'm thinking if I don't lime them, they wouldn't qualify, what do you think?

Since I've made them, at least hubby will enjoy if I can't sell them.

I'm so glad I found this side of the forum. And thank you so much for your assistance.

I'm thinking if I don't lime them, they wouldn't qualify, what do you think?

Can't help you there as I have no idea how Indiana translates "traditionally processed". Do they mean BWB processed or something in the recipe itself? Only they can say. it isn't as if you can pressure process pickles anyway.

Lime is "traditional" in many pickle recipes although Pickle Crisp is much better to use.

Dave

I love governments writing rules that can be taken in multiple ways. I'll try and if the Board of Health guy says 'no go', family will eat them.

thanks anyway.

Hi, I have a recipe for dill pickles that is very simple, the pickles are very crispy and crunchy and people LOVE them...
6cups water
2cups vinegar
1/2cup coarse salt
Dill and garlic

I start by keeping my pickles in ice cold water, I clean my jars in the dishwasher, boil the lids...
I stuff my jars tightly with the pickles, I add a couple heads of fresh pickling dill and a couple garlic cloves, I then boil the water, vinegar and salt (I normally double the batch) and once it starts to boil I pour the boiling solution in my pickle jars, I leave a little space at the top, I quickly put hot lis on top, put the rims and tighten.
All of this in theory sounds correct but it's not!!!
The problem is that I made a large batch 9days ago (about 6 dozen jars)...all the lids popped overnight, I was ecstatic! I put all the jars in the basement storage (a little cooler than room temperature) but within 5-6days a lot of jars turned cloudy and everyday I go down to see, there are 4-5 more jars that turn cloudy, now I have more cloudy jars than good jars and I don't know why!!?? I understand that I can refrigerate them and they will still be good to eat but I don't have enough room in the fridge to store 6 dozen jars and my whole point of making dill pickles is to make large batches, store them and give them away to friends and family throughout the year...
So after this big problem I started reading a lot online about what I could be doing wrong...I did another batch of dill pickles with the same recipe but this time I used distilled water (instead of hard water) as suggested a few places...I made sure to wipe the rims before I put the seals and rims on and this time less than half of the lids popped (if I take the rims off, the seal seems to be tight but they didn't pop)...I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong...this last batch I made was done 3days ago so it's still too early to see if they will get cloudy but I have a feeling they will...
Finally I thought to myself, maybe the problem is that I have to put the jars in a boiling water bath (of course I realized this 3days after I made the pickles) but I figured I have nothing to lose by trying so I put a few of the jars in the boiling water bath (once the jars were in, I waited until the water started boiling again and left them in for about 5min) ..but sure enough..a few of the lids ended up exploding, others turned out ok but again, it's too early to test the taste or see if they become cloudy or not...
So the big question is....am I doing something wrong? is the problem my recipe? Is it a recipe that needs to be refrigerated right away and shouldn't be made in large quantities? Would I be able to make a large batch and store them in the basement if I put them in a water bath right away filling them? And finally if the water bath is the solution, would it make my pickles softer?
I would really appreciate some help or feedback...
Sorry my post is so long but I figured the more info the better..thanks, help!!!

If I understood correctly you took some of the jars from the basement and put them in a pot and boiled them? No wonder they exploded - you're lucky you didn't get glass all over.

If you're going to reprocess anything, you need to start with hot jars and hot brine even if the cucumbers are raw. And you really need to do it within 24 hours.

But you should have just made the pickles and processed them right away. That recipe is not a safe recipe because there should be at least as much vinegar as water and you've got 3x more water than vinegar. See the links Dave provided above for approved recipes.

1/2C of salt for 8C of liquid is very salty. If you want to ferment pickles, 1/2C of salt (pickling salt, not iodized table salt) to 1 gal of water would make a half sour.

Sorry, but you should throw out all those jars.

This post was edited by ajsmama on Wed, Aug 27, 14 at 4:58

Thanks! I knew that processing them in the water bath a few days later would risk them exploding but figured I had nothing to lose by trying...I read Dave's posts and a lot of other posts and I understand that there needs to be more vinegar but problem is that adding more vinegar may change the taste of the pickles....my grandmother made this recipe (but don't remember if she would process them in the water bath though...) and the ones I've made and that do turn out are the best pickles that people have ever tasted!! Do you think that if I keep the same recipe and process them right away they will work or not at all...the ratio is just not good and safe to store? I don't want to be hardheaded but they really are delicious pickles but I'm starting to think they're good refrigerator picked only which is not really what I want...thanks again!

Sorry, I'd store those in the fridge if you're going to keep the vinegar to just 1/4 of the total liquids. It's not safe to can. Your grandmother may have canned them, but they used much stronger vinegar back then - you'd need at least 10% acidity to use that ratio.

Why don't you try it using half vinegar and half water, see how you like it? That would be safe to can as long as you don't overdo it on the garlic and fresh dill. See tested recipes for amounts (usually 1 clove of garlic and a couple of dill heads per quart).

Thank you so much for your help! I will try doing half and half and see how it turns out....I appreciate you taking the time! : )