This is just a little bit of info I found. Being diabetic I really am careful with my food. Elizabeth Andress did not give any information about the refrigerator pickles at the conference. One of the things I wanted to ask was about that subject. LISTERIA What is Listeria monocytogenes? Listeria monocytogenes (Listeria) is a pathogenic (disease-causing) bacterium that is food borne and causes an illness called listeriosis1. It is frequently overlooked as a possible cause of illness due to its unique growth capabilities. First, it is somewhat difficult for laboratories to grow, and when they do so, Listeria can be confused with common harmless contaminants and disregarded. Second, most bacteria grow poorly when temperatures fall below 40°F, while Listeria survives in temperatures from below freezing (20°F) to body temperature and it grows best at 0°F to 50°F,1 including the temperature range that we use for refrigeration. As a result, Listeria may be transmitted in ready-to-eat foods that have been kept properly refrigerated. Its ability to grow in such diverse environments is just one of the many challenges presented by this dangerous bacterium. It is estimated that Listeria causes approximately 1,600 cases of listeriosis annually, resulting in 415 deaths. Where does Listeria monocytogenes come from? There are many opportunities for contamination with Listeria during the process of food production because Listeria monocytogenes is ubiquitous in the environment.1 For example, it can be grown from wild and domestic animals, birds, insects, soil and wastewater, and vegetation. As it is a bacterium found in soil and vegetation, it is easily contracted and transmitted by herd animals. Listeria is found in grazing areas, stale water supplies, and poorly prepared animal feed. It can live in the intestines of humans, animals, and birds for long periods of time without causing infection. The bacterium is often isolated in cattle, sheep, and fowl, and is also found in dairy products, fruits, and vegetables. Here is a link that might be useful: About listeria.

Absolutely, Ben. To quote from the Ball Blue Book: "Canned meats and vegetables keep just as well without salt as with it. The amount called for in those recipes is too small to help prevent spoilge; it is there only for seasoning purposes." I would add one proviso. We're talking about salt added to a brine or directly into the jars. Some pickles get salted ahead of time to draw moisture out of them, and make them crisper. Do not omit that step for those types.

The pickling salt is 100% pure salt, with no minerals or any additives to prevent caking. Salt has a tendency to absorb moisture. The only way to know is to see what it contains. If its salt only, and not sea salt, you should also look for the words 'Silicone Dioxide', which is not good in any pickles. Kosher salt is a larger grain and is almost double the volume compared to regular salt. Another source for pure 100% salt is from sausage making supply companies. I bought a 10 pound tub and it should last me quite a while. The other option is to see who can ship outside the US. A cooking show on PBS just recently had an italian cooking program that featured several vegetable garden based pickle recipes. They all used white distilled vinegar with a 5% strength. Large grain salt can measure about half the amount of regular pickling salt. For instance, a half cup of pickling salt, may require up to a cup of Kosher or other large grain salt. Be careful if there are any additives, as they will affect the flavor of any pickles. Be sure to TASTE the pickle brine prior to adding any vegetables. I would expect gill is grown almost anywhere. When you plant dill seeds, let a few go through the full cycle, and produce more seeds, so you can have more dill next year. Mine now comes up in places it grew last summer. Pickling salt is also known as canning salt. It should NOT contain Iodine either!

I don't see why not, as long as you use an equivalent weight. Canning and Pickling salt is 220 grams or 7.75 oz. per cup, so you can use any unadulterated salt at that weight. If the original recipe called for 1 1/2 cups of canning and pickling salt, you would use 330 grams of your salt by weight, regardless of how it measures in the cup. The only quibble with that is some sea salts are higher in minerals of various sorts, so there may be some cloudiness or slight alteration in flavor. But personally I doubt it's that significant. Again, to clarify for the original poster, we're discussing fermented pickles, but if you wanted to be precise with a refrigerator pickle and assure the correct degree of saltiness (per the recipe) you could do the same thing. Weigh a cup of your sea salt and see how close it comes to the weight I provided for canning and pickling salt and adjust accordingly. Carol