Half Sour Pickle Recipe Question

14 years ago

I tried the (Claussen) dill pickle recipe posted by "linda lou" back in 2008. The flavor smells and tastes great! I read a post by ksrogers saying that the claussen type are a half sour and should be put in the fridge after 2-5 days, not fully fermented as in 'linda lou's' recipe calls for 10-11 days. So, after the day 3, I tasted the pickle and the flavor was good, crispy, a bit too salty though and I could still taste the cucumber flavor. I packed them into the jars, some with all of the brine and some with half brine and half water. I was experiementing to see if the half solution would help with the too much salt factor. After 5 days, I taste tested both and the full brine was still too salty, but not as much as before and the half solution had a much less salty taste. With both taste tested, I could still taste the cucumber flavor.

I want to try this again, but I want to make sure that I won't get the cucumber flavor with my next batches. Ken, I have read your posts, so I am going to apologize in advance if you have already answered this question and don't feel obligated or waste your time in answering again. As I understand that life's chores are neverending and very time consuming!

Thanks, Amy

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (2)

digdirt2
14 years ago
I want to try this again, but I want to make sure that I won't get the cucumber flavor with my next batches.

I don't recall all the details of the recipe off hand but fresh cucumbers are noted for not having a great deal of natural flavor because they are 90% water. This allows them to quickly absorb the flavors of what ever is added to the brine. Older cukes will be much stronger cuke flavored so fresh-as-possible cukes (picked and pickled within 12 hours) is what is recommended.

Other than that any "cucumber flavor", other than that normal to all pickles, would most likely be caused by either too little vinegar, by the flavoring spices used - too old or not enough or them, or by the brine temperature.

Too little vinegar would be easy to fix by just adding small amounts at a time until the taste desired is achieved.

If old spices were used they would have lost much of their flavor so using only very freshly dried spices might solve the problem.

Hope this helps.

Dave

PS: I linked the Troubleshooting Guidelines for Fermenting below in case they may be of help to you too.

Here is a link that might be useful: Causes and Possible Solutions for Problems with Fermented Pickles
ksrogers
14 years ago
Suggest that you try the Mrs. Wages dill pickle mixes and add plenty of fresh dill weed and fresh dill seeed heads, also a few cut up cloves of garlic for your brine. If you have measured the amount of salt to water, and found it to be too salty, you can dilute it a little, but dilution should not be done once they are fermented. It can affect the brine in that the cukes can get mushy, or spoil much easier. As I have mentioned, I do make my brines by taste, but Alton Browns recipe of 5.5 ounces (by weight) of pickling salt or the Mrs. Wages to a gallon of water should come close. Cukes WILL have a cuke flavor even after a few weeks in the brine. You don't want all of the cuke flavor masked by salt and spices. I add the small amount of vinegar after the few days at room temp fermenting, then they get placed in half gallon jars in the fridge. I usually don't taste them for about 3-5 days later. I do taste the brine before adding the fresh pickling cukes. Right now, I only have 2 cukes that will be ready to pick tomorrow. Everything here has taken a 45+ day length out of the growing season due to the cold bad weather he had in June and July. At least we hit a 90 degree day last week. Most of my dill has passed on to tan seeds and is dieing out. I have one plant over 7 foot tall however, a record for me. It came out of soil that had a lot of bird seed thistle hulls left by gold finches in winter.
Related Discussions
Half sours simplified
Q
Comments (3)
I hope so too. Its always a pleasure to see people assist, detail, organise, and fill in where I might have assumed a step, or didn't detail enough. I was amazed at how long it took to get all this info typed into single post. I probably could have used a message thread post where my name was the subject title, but figured it would 'cloud' the issue. The garlic is any amount you like! I have 12 inch diameter mammoth dill seed heads and cut off the main spray stems about 2 inches back from the smaller seed sprays. Garlic, for me is anywhere from a clove to a half a bulb or more. Depending on size. My Musik garlic has BIG fat single layer cloves this year. I had also seen a couple of missed garlic plants from last summers digging harvest. A couple of them were actaully totally round like a small white onion and no seperate cloves. It was nice to see a wierd thing like that, even though it was just 3, and they were big as a big marble size, I used them too. These pickles are so good even after a year, that I get the garlic pieces out and eat that once the cukes are gone. Mincing is too nice to garlic, laving whole cloves not effective enough for flavor. Pea sized pieces are good. One jar of the re-brind, just slightly 'hissed' at me. Looks like its doing well enough now to get to the vinegar add stage. Right now, two half gallon jars are headed for the fridge, but both had to be re-brined due to them being made by my failed atempt at many tasting sessions. Luckily, it was replaced just a day after being started. They get that vinegar tonight though, and then the fridge. I also had a third jar started, and noticed the first two had shrunk enough to squeeze almost 2 more cukes in each jar. That 3rd jar is about 3/4 full, but with a coupple of really BIG cukes that got missed the last day I picked. They will grow an inch bigger by tomorrow.
...See More
Why do my half sour pickles turn slimy?
Q
Comments (5)
Don't know what kind of recipe your using, but whey isn't usually added to salt water nased brines. Whey contains protien and can cause very bad results. Half sours are simply salt and water, with added dill and garlic. Then whole cukes with both end tips cut off. No onions, bayleaf, mustard seed, of any other spice or herb. What your doing is not properly allowing the cukes natural enymes to work with the salt brine to form lactic acid. After a few days you add a small amount of wite distilled vinegar to stablize the brine and then refrigerate. Lactic acid is what makes them sour. Sufficent salt must be added to the water. Too little, and you get mush and quick spoilage, too much salt and its inedible. Suggest that you do a search within this forum for the many hundreds of posts that explain in great detail the amount of salt needed per gallon of water for half sour pickles, as well as the usual herbs used.
...See More
Alton Brown Recipe - Kinda Sorta Sour Pickles
Q
Comments (15)
I assumed that his recipes would be better than any old one off the net, being the egghead that he is. You are right but then we don't use or recommend "any old recipe off the net" when it comes to long term storage/food preservation anyway. We use only approved and tested recipes from USDA/NCHFP, BBB, Ball Complete Book, So easy to Preserve, extension services, and a couple of other books are tested and approved for home canning/preserving. I am not saying his recipe that you posted is unsafe to make. As Carol and I both said above as long as you keep it refrigerated rather than out on the counter you can do it if you wish however you wish. But understand that it won't keep for long. How long? Can't say - and neither does the recipe apparently. So it is not meant for long term storage if that is your goal - even in the fridge. Listeria still grows, salmonella isn't killed, molds and other bacteria aren't killed in the fridge. Only canning does that. Only processing allows for any long term storage. You say you are afraid to try "real canning". Properly processed canned goods based on tested and approved recipes are far safer then anything stored in the fridge. ;) Dave
...See More
pickling mix recipe question
Q
Comments (6)
Carol, Thanks for the great link! I hope you don't mind if I post it over on the Hot Pepper Forum (I'll give you credit for the find). Great info for pepper folks gathering their harvest as the season ends on our side of the planet. Bill
...See More

Half Sour Pickle Recipe Question

Comments (2)

digdirt2

ksrogers

Related Discussions

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US