Favorite recipe - way to make pickles? Fermenting, especially if you want dills. Have a big crock of these working right now. Alton Brown Fermented Dills Ingredients 5 1/2 ounces pickling salt, approximately 1/2 cup 1 gallon filtered water 3 pounds pickling cucumbers, 4 to 6-inches long 1 tablespoon black peppercorns 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes 2 cloves garlic, crushed 1 teaspoon dill seed (used 1 1/2) 1 large bunch dill (+1 tsp dillweed) Directions Combine the salt and water in a pitcher and stir until the salt has dissolved. Rinse the cucumbers thoroughly and snip off the blossom end stem. Set aside. Place the peppercorns, pepper flakes, garlic, dill seed and fresh dill into a 1-gallon crock. Add the cucumbers to the crock on top of the aromatics. Pour the brine mixture over the cucumbers in order to completely cover. Pour the remaining water into a 1-gallon ziptop plastic bag and seal. Place the bag on top of the pickles making sure that all of them are completely submerged in the brine. Set in a cool, dry place. Check the crock after 3 days. Fermentation has begun if you see bubbles rising to the top of the crock. After this, check the crock daily and skim off any scum that forms. If scum forms on the plastic bag, rinse it off and return to the top of the crock. The fermentation is complete when the pickles taste sour and the bubbles have stopped rising; this should take approximately 6 to 7 days. Once this happens, cover the crock loosely and place in the refrigerator for 3 days, skimming daily or as needed. Store for up to 2 months in the refrigerator, skimming as needed. If the pickles should become soft or begin to take on an off odor, this is a sign of spoilage and they should be discarded. Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/dill-pickles-recipe.html?oc=linkback Dave

kayskats - Yes, the "police" do show up at farmer's markets and farm stands, the state Dept of Ag can show up anytime (and have for several other vendors) to do a "surprise" inspection at your home kitchen, and yes, I do have to show my certification before I can sell at my quite small market (less than 30 vendors on any Saturday). The state also shows up to ensure that weighing scales have been calibrated within the last year, but that is another story. If you are caught selling BWB canned acidified foods when you do not have the cert. or are selling other stuff you shouldn't be (low acid, pressure canned, refrigerated, etc.), the Dept of Ag and the FDA could inflict very severe penalties on you and your market. We homegrown sellers have to follow pretty much what the rules are for commercial operations. One size fits all, US wide, but some states have lesser rules for farm stands and farmer's markets than my state does. Best to check with your Cooperative Extension office in your county and if they don't know, go on to your State Dept. of Ag. One comment one of my co-student's made was that if he didn't know what the rules were he would be safe from penalties. I don't think I'd buy anything from him, would you? Yes, please ask the sellers HOW their stuff was processed and if their kitchen was inspected, etc. We are consumers and should protect ourselves from bad stuff we might ingest. I even walk out of restaurants with a food grade less than "A". ksrogers - I think dry cured meats are regulated by another mega agency, the USDA. One of the vendors at my market raises cattle and hogs for cuts of meat he sells. He threw up his hands at the regs for slaughtering, curing, and/or freezing and now has a co-packer do it for him and THEY have to handle the USDA inspections and process filings which are really intense. >>I wouldn't go so far as to say that cured meat has no safety issues, because they do!Yes, I know, I make regular strawberry jam that is heated, but sadly it is not nearly as tasty as freezer jam. Horseradish, a low acid food, is not exactly stable and the pH acidification cannot be measured outside a food science lab according to my instructor, and that is why I can't sell it. It is not heated or pasteurized to eliminate bacterias, molds, and toxins, and "sealing" only means screwing on the cap. Refrigeration and acidification keep it stable and unable to grow the bad stuff because of refrigeration. That is also why it is sold refrigerated and you are admonished on the label to keep it refrigerated after opening. Commercial processors ship in refrigerated trucks from refrigerated manufacturing and storage facilities, and they go directly to the refrigerated section of the grocery store. That is something that can't be duplicated in a home processing environment or at an open-air market. Also, adding more vinegar doesn't necessarily make it safer because we can't measure the pH of the horseradish's vegetable interior at home, and with pH meters and test strips all we are doing is measuring the vinegar's pH. BTW - shelf stable jams and jellies are exempt from these regs because they have low water activity and a low pH. Since they are also packed at high temperatures, they are not likely to harbor harmful food borne illness organisms. Molds are the most likely bad thing to form but that is usually from not having sterilized the jars or not heating the lids enough (or, dirty hands packing them, airborne dust in a room with a fan, using overly ripe or moldy fruit, etc. etc.). I can sell as many variations of jelly and jam as I want at market. Without a cert. but with a kitchen inspection. Nancy

The older yellow one has tougher seeds and once pickled in any method will end up being mushy with chewy seeds. If you wanted to save seeds for next year, allow that old yellow one to remain on the plant a bit longer. Only problem then, is if they stay too long on the plant, the plant stops producing more cukes, and will not form any new ones until the old guy is taken off. I pick almost daily in early morning. Usually I find that if I grow about 10 - 15 cuke plants, I get enough to make a good sized batch of pickles within a single day of picking. I never add water to my pickle brines, except if they are the fermenting type, where water and salt are used instead to make Lactic acid. After about 2-3 days, I add a tablespoon or two of vinegar and then place in fridge. I cut off the end tips from both ends as I mentioned in many recent posts. Mine are half spours and remain quite crisp for up to a year in the fridge. I also add lots of fresh dill weed and dill seed heads that are swelled green seeds. A fully fermented pickle would take about 10-14 days, and be a bit softer. I also like to use a Mrs Wages dill pickle mix, as it has an additive that prevents mold/scum from forming on the surface of the brine.

OK, I'm up for it - I have a Starbucks vanilla latte sitting in front of me and our morning fog hasn't burned off yet so my garden chores are being delayed a little. But Joyce, I hope you'll pick up the copy of the Ball Blue Book still, and not be looking for recipes in places you may find them untested.... Mustard Pickles Ball Blue Book 1 1/2 lbs 3-4" cucumbers, cut into 1/2" slices 1 quart green tomato wedges (about 6 medium) 3 Cups cauliflowerets (about 1 small head) 3 Cups chopped sweet green peppers (about 3 medium) 3 Cups chopped sweet red peppers (about 3 medium) 2 Cups peeled pickling onions 1 Cup canning salt 4 Quarts plus 1/2 cup water, divided 1 1/2 cups sugar 1/2 Cup flour 1 tablespoon turmeric 1/2 cup prepared mustard 5 cups vinegar Combine vegetables in large bowl. Dissolve salt in 4 quarts water. Pour salt water over vegetables, let stand 12 to 18 hours in a cool place. Drain, rinse and drain thoroughly. Combine sugar, flour, and turmeric in a large sauce-pot. Gradually add 1/2 cup water, stirring until smooth. Stir in mustard and vinegar. Cook until sauce coats spoon and mixture thickens. Add vegetables, simmer 15 minutes. Pack hot pickles and liquid into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch head-space. Remove air bubbles. Adjust two-piece caps. Process pints and quarts 10 minutes in a boiling-water canner. Yield about 8 pints or 4 quarts.