Water bath for pickles

15 years ago

I have been using my Grandma's recipe for a few years now and have been getting into putting up things like jellys and jams. I have been reading about how everything needs to be processed in a water bath or pressure canner. My recipe does not call for either. I have never had any problems with the pickles or with them being sealed. But wonder if I need to precess them in a water bath just to make sure they are safe. Do I need to process them and if yes how long?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (10)

readinglady
15 years ago
The biggest issue is not the processing time (which is dependent upon many factors) but the recipe itself.

Many older pickle recipes originally relied upon much stronger vinegars than the 5% in use today so they had an extra margin of safety that no longer exists.

We need to see the recipe first.

Carol
Linda_Lou
15 years ago
If your recipe doesn't have at least half vinegar that is 5 % acidity to water ratio, it cannot prevent botulism. Cucumbers are low acid vegetables and need that much acid or more to destroy botulism .
You must process all foods if they are to be stored on the shelf. Otherwise nothing has been done to destroy bacteria and you will not have a true vacuum seal.
Related Discussions
Question for Dinkans
Q
Comments (3)
Pickling lime (hydrated lime) is sometimes sold anywhere that carries canning supplies. Walmart has it as do grocery stores in the section where the other canning supplies are sold. But it is getting harder to find except online because of the problems associated with using it. Please be advised that it is usually only called for in very old recipes as it is quite caustic, difficult to work with (avoid any breathing or skin contact), and its use isn't generally recommended any longer. It is a firming/crisping agent and for the most part it has been replaced by calcium chloride. From NCHFP: Food-grade lime may be used as a lime-water solution for soaking fresh cucumbers 12 to 24 hours before pickling them. Excess lime absorbed by the cucumbers must be removed to make safe pickles. To remove excess lime, drain the lime-water solution, rinse, and then resoak the cucumbers in fresh water for 1 hour. Repeat the rinsing and soaking steps two more times. Dave
...See More
Your favorite pickle recipes?
Q
Comments (26)
Tracey, Since you are brand new to canning or pickling, I'd start out with the Ball Blue Book. It usually is available on the canning supply aisle at Wal-Mart, or you can often find it at a bookstore or order it online from Amazon. It costs about $10.00. All the recipes in the Ball Blue Book have been tested and are safe for canning when following precisely. The best online source for canning information is the website of the National Center for Home Food Preservation. It has all kinds of instructional information, recipes and how-to videos. All the recipes on this website are tested and proven safe. The most important thing about canning is safety. Improperly canned foods can contain pathogens like botulism or listeria (and many others) that can be deadly even though the food looks and smells perfectly fine. So, use only safe, approved canning recipes. There are many recipes available on the internet (and also sometimes found in magazine articles and books) that I wouldn't use because they haven't been tested and proven safe for canning. Once you're experienced at canning, you'll recognize them because you'll be able to look at the ingredient list and tell, for example, that they don't have enough vinegar for the amount of ingredients being pickled, or whatever. Sometimes I'll see a canning recipe is a magazine and can tell at a glance that is not safe and I'll say something to my DH about it. Then, in a few weeks, the next issue of the magazine, or the next one after it, will arrive with a printed correction. I wish they'd be sure of the safety of their canning recipes before they print them to begin with. Also, be sure to use the precise form of canning recommended. Some foods can be canned using a boiling water bath while others must be pressure-canned. Once again, this is a safety issue. Boiling water baths only work for a few types of veggies and fruits, and you have to use pressure canning for others. Each recipe will tell you whether to use a boiling water bath or pressure canner. Also, just remember you cannot substitute anything in a canning recipe unless the recipe says such a substitution is safe and is allowed. Safety is based on the pH of the ingredients and on the density as well. If you make any change that alters the pH or the density, you alter the safety of the recipe. I'm not trying to scare you---canning is perfectly safe when you use approved recipes and follow them precisely. A lot of folks like to freelance though, and while that is fine with regular cooking, it is not fine when canning food. I'm going to link the Ball Blue Book so you can see what it looks like. As of last week, they still had them on the canning aisle at my local Wal-Mart, but often they only have them during the height of the growing season and don't stock the book year-round, so you may or may not find it in your local store. Canning is fun and is a great way to preserve food. I canned over 700 jars last year when the garden was producing much more abundantly than it has this year. Dawn Here is a link that might be useful: The Ball Blue Book
...See More
Canning question...need help fast
Q
Comments (8)
LindaC, this is from the Massachusett's Department of Public Health: Because high temperatures destroy the botulism toxin, persons who eat home-canned food should consider boiling the food for 10 minutes before eating to ensure safety. More information on safe home canning can be found on the Utah State University Extension SchoolÂs website at: http://extension.usu.edu/cooperative/publications/. This is from the Center for Disease Control website: How can botulism be prevented? Botulism can be prevented. Foodborne botulism has often been from home-canned foods with low acid content, such as asparagus, green beans, beets and corn. However, outbreaks of botulism from more unusual sources such as chopped garlic in oil, chile peppers, tomatoes, improperly handled baked potatoes wrapped in aluminum foil, and home-canned or fermented fish. Persons who do home canning should follow strict hygienic procedures to reduce contamination of foods. Oils infused with garlic or herbs should be refrigerated. Potatoes which have been baked while wrapped in aluminum foil should be kept hot until served or refrigerated. Because the botulism toxin is destroyed by high temperatures, persons who eat home-canned foods should consider boiling the food for 10 minutes before eating it to ensure safety. Instructions on safe home canning can be obtained from county extension services or from the US Department of Agriculture. So, boiling foods for 10 minutes seems to be a widely accepted safety practice, but I don't think I'd want to boil any pickles for 10 minutes or I'd have mush. Annie
...See More
What is this stuff in my pickle jar?
Q
Comments (15)
After reading comments here.. I went back through my processing notes to make sure I knew which jars they were. Turns out they are lacto-fermented jars, not processed jars. I was thinking of the wrong batch when I wrote earlier. It had been a long few days of processing several bushels into various stuff. So what I did was at the end of the canning night- I water bath pickled a few jars of green cherry tomatoes, and was pretty wiped out to do another batch.I brought the jars up to a brief boil while I prepped up the tomatoes. Pulled jars out of hot water,. into each jar went 2t mustard seed, 1t peppercorns, 1t dill seed , 1/2t hot pepper flake, 1 bay leaf, and a couple small whole fresh garlic cloves. Brine was 10 cups water, and 50 grams of salt, I used 30 grams of canning salt, and 20 grams of large flake sea salt. Brought briefly up to a boil and salt added in, then cooled down to room temp before pouring over the tomatoes. Weights went into the top of the jars, then the jars got capped with clean coffee filters bonnets. Sat on the counter for 4 days or so till they stopped bubbling. Then they got their solid cap and ring, and went into the back of the fridge. This was in October. I think I'm a bit alarmed because this is the first time doing something like this has resulted in a cloud like it has. I regularly will lacto-ferment carrots, and have done summer squash. And I have fridge pickled a whole ton of stuff. And of course hot water bath processing, but that's a whole nother pickle. But never seen a cloud before. Good to know it seems like a good thing and not a yucky thing.
...See More
ksrogers
15 years ago
Very common to see your question and concerns here. As you now know that safety is the biggest issue. Pickles with a high vinegar ratio, and jellies with high acid are usually fairly safe even if not done 'exactly' to the letter as far as processing times. Thats because they USUALLY have enough acid, salt, and sugar to protect the foods from supporting any botulism or nasty bacteria. Suggest that you take awhile and read through te many recent threads to see more info, hooro stories and solutions. Also keep in mind that no one here wants to make anyone else sick (or even DIE) from a bad canning.
Happy reading..
ccarr
Original Author
15 years ago
the recipe for Grandma's pickles:
1 qt. vinegar
2 qts. water
1 cup pickling salt
Let mixture come to a boil. Pack cucumbers in jars. Add 1 head dill, pinch of alum (1/4tsp.), 1 pepper pod, and 1 garlic clove. Pour hot mixture over cucumbers and put on lids. Flip upside down for 5 minutes. Check for proper seal after the jars have cooled off.

That's the recipe. I hope it gives you a better insight.
Linda_Lou
15 years ago
It is not safe. It is outdated. First, not enough vinegar. You must have at least half vinegar that is 5% acidity. The old recipes had vinegar that were as much as 40 percent compared to what we have nowdays.
Also ALL foods must be properly processed. The old recipe used "open kettle" in which nothing was done to actually preserve the food. Processing destroys bacteria, molds, etc. It also creates a true vacuum seal, unlike just turning them upside down or just letting them seal. You have just sealed up all the air and bacteria inside those jars without processing.
Alum will make pickles softer as they sit. It doesn't help them at all unless it is a fully fermented pickle.
Nowdays we use calcium chloride, but it has been discontinuted by Ball.
Using fresh cucumbers is the best way to insure they are crisp.
ksrogers
15 years ago
As a comparison, I MUST also state here that ALL my pickles contain at LEAST an 80% vinegar of 5% strength. More so for a very delicate pickled pepper, which are canned using 100% vinegar at 5% acidity. Again, the availabilty of the basic product PICKLE CRISP has been offered by an alternate source, and is commonly known as FOOD CRADE CALCIUM CHLOIDE. Its available through Bulk Foods, as indicated in several of my posts. Why do a few insist on miseleading people when it comes to a product found extrememly useful in canning. For what is worth, I still have FIVE BOXES of Ball Pickle Crisp here, unopened. Its use is for small batches of pickles. Additinally I have 2 pound jar of the calcium chloride which I use for larger batches.
ccarr
Original Author
15 years ago
I will have to find another pickle recipe for putting up pickles. But can I use my Grandma's recipe if once I make them I store them in the refridgerator? I love the taste of them and the recipe makes a small batch. Any suggestions on a recipe for pickles?
Linda_Lou
15 years ago
Kosher Dill (Heinz Recipe)

4 lbs pickling cukes
14 cloves garlic, peeled & split
1/4 cup salt
2 3/4 cups distilled or apple cider vinegar 5% acidity
2 3/4 cups water
12 to 14 sprigs fresh dill weed (or 2 T. dried dill weed or dried dill seed per jar)
28 peppercorns

Wash cucumbers; remove 1/16 inch from blossom end, cut in half lengthwise. Combine garlic and next 3 ingredients; heat to boiling. Remove garlic and place 4 halves into each clean jar, then pack cucumbers, adding 2 sprigs of dill and 4 peppercorns. Pour hot vinegar solution over cucumbers to within 1/2 inch of top. Immediately adjust covers as jar manufacturer directs. Process 10 minutes in BWB. Makes 6-7 pints.
If you want hot pickles, add dried hot chilis to each jar.
Carol Marie Groen
7 years ago
So is it safe to say our grandmothers recipe is fine if we use straight vinegar? I hope this person is still active...
digdirt2
7 years ago
"So is it safe to say our grandmothers recipe is fine if we use straight vinegar? I hope this person is still active..."

Probably but there is no way to know for sure without seeing the entire recipe. If you want to post the whole recipe one of us will be happy to evaluate it for you. And it will taste quite different too if made with straight vinegar.

Dave

Water bath for pickles

Comments (10)

readinglady

Linda_Lou

Related Discussions

ksrogers

ccarr
Original Author

Linda_Lou

ksrogers

ccarr
Original Author

Linda_Lou

Carol Marie Groen

digdirt2

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Water bath for pickles

Comments (10)

Related Discussions

ccarrOriginal Author

ccarrOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

ccarr
Original Author

ccarr
Original Author