Pickle Crisp (Calcium Chloride) Questions

9 years ago

I have some questions that I can't seem to find answers to anywhere after hours of searching his forum and the internet.

1) Will pickle crisp affect flavor?

I used the recommended amount in jars of watermelon pickles. They have an odd chemical taste to them. I used lime (the fruit, not the chemical) instead of lemon in the recipe but I really doubt that the acrid taste was from that substitution.

2) How long does it take pickle crisp to work?

I opened a jar after two days and the pickles are not any more crisp than the batch done without pickle crisp. In fact, they are mushier. Still a good texture but certainly not crisper. I'm wondering if I haven't let the pickle crisp work long enough. I know that lime (the chemical, not the fruit) will make things very crisp in just 24 hours but I can't seem to find any information about how long pickle crisp takes.

3) Does the thickness of the syrup in this recipe interfere with how pickle crisp works? The watermelon rind recipe has a lot of sugar in it and is much thicker than a regular brine. I'm wondering if this is preventing the pickle crisp from migrating around in the jar.

Thanks much for any insights you might have. I consider myself an expert canner and I've never had a batch of these pickles fail before. Just trying to avoid wasting all the time and ingredients next time. The bright side is that the first batch of pickles is out of this world good!

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Comments (5)

malna
9 years ago
1) Will pickle crisp affect flavor?

Yes, it might. Calcium chloride is a salt, so it can taste "salty" depending on your taste buds. Regular salt is sodium chloride, which we all know under the common name of "salt". Some people can detect a chalky taste from Pickle Crisp which would be the calcium in it (ever eat Tums? - those are calcium carbonate and taste, to me, like blackboard chalk). Again, depends on the sensitivity of taste buds.

As an example, if I order a margarita, I cannot tolerate the lime (fruit) and salt on the rim. But run an orange or a lemon over it instead and dip it in the salt, I love it. I also do not like salt on sliced tomatoes. I think it's hideous. DH salts his liberally. It may be your taste buds reacting to the type and flavor of the acid/type of salt combo.

Note: I tend to cut the sodium type salt in recipes where I'm using Pickle Crisp where it is safe to do so.

2) How long does it take pickle crisp to work?

I honestly can't answer that one, because I've never opened a jar of anything where I've used Pickle Crisp (tomatoes, pickled peppers, etc.) before it has been on the shelf for a least a month or 6 weeks. And (so far, knock on wood), I don't detect any chemical flavor or lack of crispness. Pickling lime is calcium hydroxide, so it reacts differently (and likely faster) than calcium chloride.

3) Does the thickness of the syrup in this recipe interfere with how pickle crisp works?

Long term, it shouldn't. My guess is the Pickle Crisp didn't completely have time to do its chemical reaction stuff before you popped the lid and tasted.

Probably more than you wanted to know...
eddie1025
Original Author
9 years ago
Hey, I asked the question! I certainly want to know as much as you've got to tell me! Thanks for your response.

I will just have to wait patiently and see if the flavor improves and the crispness develops. *stares at jars and taps foot*
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You'll find many discussions about using it on the Harvest forum here - the canning and preserving forum. Pickle Crisp is the brand name most of us use although the food grade calcium chloride is is also available in bulk quantities from several sources. Most recipes call for only 1/4 tsp. of Pickle Crisp so it is used in minimal amounts. Both calcium and chloride are natural elements, present in the body naturally. But both are mined elements so labeled by AMS/USDA as "non-synthetic substances prohibited for use in organic crop production except as a foliar spray to treat a physiological disorder associated with calcium uptake." As for eating it - your choice. Dave
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The road grade is loaded with impurities and not fit for food consumption. I add the stuff to the bottom of the jars before packing and filling. It does help a bit, but only if there is not too much heat used in the canning process to begin with. Because most of my pickles are full strength 5% vinegar, I process a lot less time. I consider salt and vinegar a good 'preservative' all by itself. Here, 'road salt' is a mix of rock salt and sand. Totally different from the Calcium Chloride. They do recommend using the spreading type CC around plants, concrete, and wood, as it will not destroy the surfaces as easily as rock salt can. Even for that, its at least twice the price of rock salt , but has a much faster reaction for melting ice. Far too expensive to be used as a road treatment by itself.
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Pickle Crisp does work against you when doing sweet pickles with sugar added to the brine. Because Linda Lou's recipe uses a salt brine to essentially remove a lot of the water from the cukes, it leaves them open for the penetration of the vinegar and sugar. With the addition of the calcium chloride of Pickle Crisp, it will tend to break down the cukes a little and have a negative effect on crispness. Because the fermented salt brine method to making these unusual sweet pickles makes the cukes a bit less watery by its nature, they do act a little different when they are stored in sugar and vinegar. I don't think it would be the same if they were not sweetened with regular sugar, or if Splenda or some other artifical sweetener was used instead of sugar. My 32 ounce jar of bulk Calcium Chloride is almost 1/4 gone already. I use it ONLY for my dills, sweets without sugar, and my pepperoncini pickled peppers in full strength vinegar and salt. The pickling cukes actually suffer in taste and texture if you peel them, even for a fresh salad. Its not necessary for most any pickling cuke to be peeled. As to bitterness, it cannot be bred out of the cucumbers, no matter what they say about bitterless or burpless varieties. Usually it occurs early in the season when there are only a few flowers and the plant is not big yet. Once the cukes get into the summer growing season, they tend to be much more reliable and you will be hard pressed to find a bitter one then. Even for that, when I am picking early ones, I try to taste each cuke with a small slice near the stem end to see if it has any bitterness. If so, its tossed. There is nothing worse to throw off a nice jar of pickles if you come across a single slice (or slices) of a bitter cuke. No amount of vinegar, salt, sugar, or spices will hide its awful taste. I have had my share of bitter ones, and most have been from seeds that said they had no bitters.
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Slimy_Okra
9 years ago
Calcium chloride has a very penetrating saltiness compared to sodium chloride, along with a tinge of bitterness. Is this the acrid taste you're referring to?
eddie1025
Original Author
9 years ago
I bit the bullet and mixed the amount of calcium chloride I put in each jar (about 1/8 teaspoon) into a little bit of water about the volume of syrup in the jars.

Blech! The calcium chloride is definitely what I'm tasting and it is interacting with another flavor (I suspect the lime juice) to make a long-lasting aftertaste.

I briefly considered mixing up another batch of syrup and boiling the pickles in that to try to reduce the amount in the finished product. Of course, they would be refrigerator pickles at that point. However, I suspect that will just be a waste of sugar and vinegar.

I will put the pickles up on the shelf and see if several weeks of sitting will mellow it. Such a disappointment!
Loveinamist
3 years ago
Just add 1 oak leaf and 1 grape leaf to each jar of pickles for crispness. I make salt water pickles. Just opened a jar from August 2020 and these are super crispy!

Pickle Crisp (Calcium Chloride) Questions

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malna

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Pickle Crisp (Calcium Chloride) Questions

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malna

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