Yes, 'fresh pack' is any pickle that is made and processed say - the same day or 2. Not brined and not fermented are fresh pack. B&B pickles are fresh packed pickles. Dave

I'm sorry it's taken me so long to weigh in on this discussion, though I've been corresponding privately with ajsmama. The Just-Like-Gregg's recipe intrigued me, so I decided to try it. Here's what I learned: The cucumbers get salty, dilly, and garlicky without becoming pickles, because no vinegar is added and no fermentation occurs. I've had these in the refrigerator for about a month now, and they're now getting a bit too hot from the peppers. But, as I expected, there is no sign of spoilage. When ajsmama wrote me regarding this forum discussion, I was alarmed by a post about listeria in fermented pickles. Now I can't find the post; perhaps it was removed? Anyhow, I looked up the study that was mentioned, "Listeria monocytogenes Survival in Refrigerator Dill Pickles," on the website of the National Center for Home Preservation, and I urge anyone worried about the safety of unpasteurized fermented pickles to do the same. Here's my summary of the study: Cucumbers were soaked in a listeria inoculum for 15 minutes (I recommend washing cucumbers in clean tap water instead). Some of the cukes were then fermented in a weak brine, some in a medium brine, and some in a very strong brine. In all cases, the listeria population increased slightly during the first few days, declined sharply by the end of the seven-day fermentation, and continued to decline slowly during refrigerator storage. Although the listeria didn't disappear entirely, it fell to ONE-ONE HUNDRED-THOUSANDTH of the peak amount. If for fear of listeria you want to avoid eating fermented cucumbers that haven't been heat-processed, you should certainly also avoid eating raw cucumbers or any other raw vegetables or fruits.

Subject was discussed numerous time. If you want odd flavors in your salt brines, then use table salt, which has silicon dioxide and other moisture preventers.. Obviously its not a suitable substitute for canning salt. Even for that Kosher salt is mostly pure, but measures very differently due to its granule size being much larger. Pickling salt is available from many sources fairly cheap.

Cider vinegar is made from apples (apple cider), and is just filtered, compared to white vinegar which is made from fermented vegetables like potatoes and others. The distilling removes all traces of taste and color. For really sour pickles, a higher than 5% acidity is very necessary. To help raise it a bit higher, you can add a little citric acid to the all vinegar and salt brine, or try using some of the driy vinegar powder sold by Spices Etc.. The true sour pickles you remember also used some alum, tumeric and at least 7% vinegar, which is hard to find, unless its bought by the 55 gallon drum from Heinz (20% strength). Trust me, I have not had any success finding any of the higher types, except one from from Marshall Grain in Texas, and that one is used as weed killer, and may not be suitable for consumption Here is a link that might be useful: Vinegar powder