I've done it with good results. It's more troublesome but if crispness is very important it does help.

Just be sure to limit to recipes which specify it's OK.

Of course there's also calcium chloride, the pickle crisping agent.

Carol

Ball doesn't sell Pickle Crisp any more. You may be able to find some left on the store shelves, but this time of year it is not likely, at least here. You may be able to order bulk calcium chloride from another source. It really does help with the pickles.
The low temp. is only for recipes that state it is safe to follow.
Also, we have found the BWB keeps them just as well. The reason mostly is because the processing destroys the enzymes that cause spoilage and deterioration.
Alum will not work, unless pickles are fermented. You can use pickling lime, but it must be rinsed and rinsed to be sure it is all removed.

Apparently, SOME REGULAR POSTERS here are IGNORING and not seeing/reading my replies..

The BALL PC is available from the link below. BOTH suppliers were just posted in a very recent thread as well as now.

Bulk foods also carry the 'generic' version. at this link-
http://www.bulkfoods.com/search_results.asp?txtsearchParamTxt=calcium+chloride&txtsearchParamCat=ALL&btnSearch.x=7&btnSearch.y=7&txtsearchParamType=ALL&iLevel=1&txtsearchParamMan=ALL&txtsearchParamVen=ALL&txtFromSearch=fromSearch

Here is a link that might be useful: Ball Pickle Crisp

Ken, not everyone reads every post so your prior comments might have just not been read. I did click on your link, but there is no way to order that product. The picture pops up with a price, but the "order this" button is missing and there is no way to add it to an order that I can see.

Annie

Apparently the Canning Pantry site has just run out of stock, as I had just seen it active about 3 hours ago. In any case, the BULK FOODS link I also provided was also good source for differant size amounts of the same food grade product. I have a big quart jar, which will last a long time (no exp dat). Its comparable to the Ball PC, except for a slightly larger granule size. PC is in tiny packets because it can absorb moisture if left open to air. Place the Bulk Foods product in a sealed Ball jar and it will also last forever. That granule size difference is made up by simply adding another 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon to the original PC amounts for each jar. Kind of like using more Kosher salt as a substitute for pickling salt, due to the different granule sizes.

Good luck!!

I will now place the BULK FOODS LINK into a link moe, so you can click on that and get the same stuff in bulk..

Here is a link that might be useful: BULK FOODS PICKLE CRISP SUBSTITUTE

That's because just below the picture and where is says "Desription," is this:

Jarden/Ball has discontinued this item. We are now out of stock and cannot obtain more. We recommend picking lime to make your pickles crisp.

I do all my Dills and Sweet Dills using the pasteurization method. My pickles are always crisp. I tried Pickle Crisp last year with one batch and could not tell the difference. I keep the lid off the canner and keep turning the jars. Don't let the temp get above 185 for the entire 30 minutes. You must stay by the canner the entire time. I don't mind one bit. My pickles are in demand. I use the HWB for my Sweet Chunks and my B&B's.

Thanks for all the useful replies. The sweet pickle recipe I used said to process in Water Bath so I went with that. The dill recipe said I could low temp pasteurize so that's what I'm going with - I appreciate the reviews and I love using my electronic thermometer that alerts me when the temp hits 185 - it helped a lot!

Pickling lime is now ONLY available from Mrs. Wages, and Ball has discontinued that product some time ago, as well (if its actually a fact?). Looks like Ball is 'dropping the ball!'.

Pickling lime requires a non reactive vessel to hold it, the water, and cucumbers must be pushed under the surface. The lime will never totally dissove to a clear liqiuid, but will settle out a lot and look translucent once it sinks. Stirred a few times is important so it can coat all the cukes surfaces. It MUST also be refrigerated for a 24 hour period, so make plenty of room for it in the lime and cukes in fridge! Once soaked, the cukes are rinsed MANY times, and hand rubbed to remoave as much of the lime scale as possible. It can still stick on the cukes even after all those several rinses! Soaking will help some, but also tends to 'undo' the lime treatment by adding more water. After thorough rinsings, the cukes are then sliced if the recipe calls for that, but keep in mind that you must try to keep the lime residue to a bare minimum. If not, the left over lime scale settles out at the bottom of the jars and makes them cloudy brine. Using stainless steel bowls WILL stain, and would require a removal of the lime scale using a hard scouring pad on the metal. Ideally, food grade plastic would be the best choice for the long soak in lime. Additionally, BOTH ends of the cuke tips should alos be trimmed off prior to the long soak in lime. The soak basically creates an 'invisable' layer on the skins so the acid vinegar penetrates slower. I used it up until PC came out, and still have cans of lime just waiting to be dumped in my compost pile and garden soil next year.