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Problem with fresh pack dills...

16 years ago

Guys I'm sorta new at pickles and I'm having a problem.

I did 6 jars of whole fresh pack dill pickles last night and every one has some strange white secretion at the bottom of the jar. It looks like cooked egg white, and from what I can tell it is coming out of the cut ends of the cucumbers. (The 1/16th of an inch that I cut off the blossom ends) Does anyone know what this is? Should I throw them out?

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Comments (5)

Linda_Lou
16 years ago
It depends. What recipe did you use ? Do you have at least half of the brine as 5 % acidity vinegar to water ratio ?
Did you use canning/pickling salt ? Did you process them in the boiling water bath canner ?
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readinglady
16 years ago
As Linda Lou said, it's helpful to know which recipe you used and how the pickles were processed (or not for a refrigerator pickle).

A couple of possibilities - if cucumbers are soft (mushy), then white sediment indicates spoilage. Discard. Don't taste to check!

There are some normal enzymatic/other reactions that cause a white residue that's harmless. It could be yeast or lactic acid. If pickles are firm and it's a tested recipe appropriately processed or refrigerated, they're fine.

Carol
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thear
Original Author
16 years ago
Hey guys thanks so far...

I got the cukes at a market a few days ago, but they still seemed very fresh to me. I soaked in ice water for 3 hours or so, cut 1/16 inch off the blossom end, then packed into boiled jars along with some garlic and dill and jalapeno. I then poured a boiling solution 1/4 inch from the rim. The solution was as follows:

5 cups water
5 cups white vinegar (5%)
1/4 cup pickling salt

I then sealed them and processed each jar for 5 mins in a BWB. They all sealed tight just fine..

This white milky secretion was already apparent by the time I pulled them from the water bath. It seemed like it was "cooked" out of the cut end.

I dont mind tossing these, but I sure would like to know where I went wrong. I was very clean and I sterilized everything...
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thear
Original Author
16 years ago
That should have read:

5 cups distilled water
5 cups white vinegar (5%)
1/2 cup salt

sorry...
0
ksrogers
16 years ago
The sediment could be calcium, due to hard water. It will collect at the bottom, and vinegar and the cuke enzymes tend to make it collect.
0

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