So I was thinking about Pickle Crisp today and its composition to try to see if I should be concerned about its effects on my product (fresh packed dill pickles) or health. I also saw the comment above wondering if it would impact probiotics formed in fermented pickles. Its calcium chloride. In water, it would be free calcium and free chloride ions. Chloride ions would be present already from the salt (sodium chloride). For those who have to watch their salt intake, I believe the ion of interest is sodium, not the chloride. So a slight increase in chloride would probably have a negligible effect. Calcium ions would also already be present (but less so), from the water I used. I used regular tap water, which in my part of the country is fairly hard. Hard water means it has calcium (bicarbonate or carbonate) and other minerals dissolved in it. Calcium ions are also present in antacids that are made from calcium carbonate. So I'm comfortable with a slight increase in calcium as well. I don't know too much about probiotic growth and development. I know yeast is inhibited by salt. (I recall reading that if you add too much salt to bread dough, it would take a lot longer to rise because it inhibited the yeast.) Calcium chloride is a 'salt' so if probiotics are like yeast, I suppose it would depend on how much was added. If calcium were the ion that inhibited probiotics moreso than chloride, then maybe one could compensate by using distilled water. So that's my rambling thought process on Pickle Crisp, for what its worth. Cindy

Yes you can. I don't have my container handy but it gives the amounts on the label. I 'think' it is 1 tsp per quart and 1/2 tsp. per pint jar. Just depends on how crunchy you want them. There are many discussions here on using Pickle Crisp that the search will pull up for you if you want to read them for more details. Dave

No, that confusion is my fault. Let me see if I can clear it up. ;) Pickle Crisp, the crisping agent aka calcium chloride, can be used with most anything you wish to crisp up. As I first mentioned I have used it in potatoes, dilly beans, canned green beans, dried beans, pickles of course, and yes, even whole tomatoes. But it is used in very small amounts as Linda Lou said, often as little as 1/8 tsp., and using too much of it can turn the food bitter. Used in the proper amounts it causes no taste change IME. But it does not acidify. It is not a replacement for lemon juice in tomatoes. That replacement for lemon juice is citric acid. So if you wanted firm, properly acidified tomatoes you would use both Pickle Crisp AND citric acid. Best to just ignore my post above that mentions "They are scattered throughout the many debates on "adding acid to tomatoes". That post was supposed to go on a different message where the taste of citric acid was being discussed. OK? Dave

The peeling is optional with any recipe. The need for it depends on the type of pepper and how thick the skin is. Cutting slits in the whole peppers is recommended. The soaking in vinegar is optional. The slits will allow the brine access to the interior. Just takes time. So pre-soaking them could speed up the process. Personally I've never done it. As for the pickle crisp, the amount used depends on the brand used, there are several and some are more or less coarse ground so different amounts would be called for. So use the directions on whichever brand you have, To determine if it is enough or not try some of the ones you have already done and see if you may need a bit more. That will be the best indicator and with time and testing you can decide how much works best for you. But you need to know that using too much can affect the flavor badly and that "very crisp" may not be a realistic expectation with home-canned pickled products. Heat processing just doesn't allow for "crunchiness" so homemade will never be as crisp as store bought which are processed quite differently. JMO Dave