Boiling brine is only used to fill the jars usually. Its not meant for the fermenataion process. If they are too big, it could have caused the problem you describe. Also, because a few cukes can be bitter when pickled (you can never tell by color, size, etc), the only way to really know is to taste one before its pickled or fermented. Gasses do build up inside a bigger cuke, especially if its got a hollow center with a seed cavity that is open at the middle. Another thing is to always cut off the tips at BOTH ends before you soak in brines. Doing so, ensures that all of the insides are going to get brined. Besides that, the tips (usually the stem end) can be very bitter to begin with. This is the main reason you cannot tell of the whole cuke is bitter, as some can be that way all the way out to the blossom end, while others may only be bitter very close to the stem. I have forgoten the name or chemical involved, but its whats in every cuke, no matter the type, its just tat a few will inherit this bitter tatse all the way through it. Suggest that you remove the biggest cukes, and let the rest stay in for the recommended amount of time. If there is debris in the brine, then you may waht to halt the fermentation and allow it to go to completion early.

I am surprised the lady was storing the chutney in the fridge - I think there is more to this story than meets the eye. It didn't appear in the quality press or in the broadcast media. Normally we would not use canning jars for chutney so there wouldn't be any rings. Chutney and jams are not normally canned here except commercially. The usual cover is a cellophane/plastic circle and an elastic band. Personally I use screw tops over the cellophane to prevent evaporation. I am wondering if this was a fresh chutney as opposed to the high vinegar, long cooked chutneys we normally make, hence it's being kept in the fridge.

fini

Yes, clg. Lady Hillingdon is the exception to the rule, along with Mme Antoine Mari, which is tough but doesn't grow that big.. maybe one or two others as there are about a dozen or so generally available, but they were grown mainly in glass houses in Victorian times, by the well-to-do gardeners of the day.. I don't suppose ordinary people in their cottage gardens here, ever knew much about them... If 'Mutabilis' is also considered a Tea, I'm not sure, then that would be another exceptional rose for us. I suspect the delightful 'Rosette Delizy' would struggle.. I do know of a 'Homere' still growing against a church wall in southern England, that's been there since Victorian times.. Regarding G.S. Thomas, I felt he wasn't all that keen on Austin roses either, despite having one named after him. Just something he said ''some I like more than others'', made me think that way... reading between the lines so to speak.. but then he wouldn't know about the more modern ones, some of which are just exceptional..