I still have the lime here (Mrs. Wages brand) and it did help to hold the cukes a bit firmer for the all vinegar sour pickles. I do not use alum anymore and because it still seems to be linked to aluminium and allzheimers I was not going to even try going any further with it. The lime was used, and the whole cukes were soaked in it for 24 hours in the fridge. I used huge stainless steel bowls that take up a whole shelf in the fridge. I cut off the tips of both ends prior to the soaking, They did get a long rinse afterwards, but even for that, there was a bit of white sediment in the brine after a few days. I also used a bit of tumeric for some color. They were quite pungent. I could have even added a bit of my acid blend and made them even more potent.. My sours are not fermented. They are just 100% plain white distilled vinegar, salt, and a little tumeric. My pickled pepperoncini are also done that way, but without the tumeric. My half sours are just a salt brine with a dash of vinegar added after they sit on the counter overnight. Ive also use the pickling lime for making some sweet mixed, but it was just for the cukes to soak in first. The amount of alum used in a 7 quart batch of sour pickles was something like about 2-3 teaspoons for the toatl amount of vinegar brine. With Pickle Crisp, you do have as slight flavor of chlorine, but that tends to dissipate once they are opened and allowed to 'breath' a few minutes before serving. A chilled pickle always seems to be a bit crunchier than at room temp. FYI> Rumford brand baking powder has no alum in it. Baking soda is basically bicarbonate of soda and nothing else. There is also a bakers ammonia that is still used today for some Swedish cookies and pasteries. I can't taste Pickle Crisp, but that might be because of the heat of the peppers, or the strength of the flavors and spices I use in regular pickles. Mrs. Wages and Ball mixes are the primary ingredients I use when making spiced pickles, and I add extra spices like dill, celery seeds, mustard seeds and such to the various kinds of pickles.There is nothing worse (besides a sour or mushy cuke) than a bland tasting pickle. A recent America Test Kitchen episode dealt with making a flaky pastery for a big berry tart. They mixed the butter and flour to a very course mix, then used their palms to press the flour into the butter lumps. This helped to spread the butter into thinner bits. Ever made puff pastry? I have, with excellent results. MUCH better than the Pepperidge Farm frozen stuff. It does take a long time, a cold work surface, lots of patience and lots of rolling between each chilling.

There are all kinds of pickle recipes here as well as those at NCHFP. But 'no sugar' is really going to limit your options. Plus it is going to create a quality issue on top of the quality issue with the cukes you are using. Are you sure you wouldn't rather grind them up into some form of dill or reduced sugar relish? There is a recipe for no-sugar pickled beets that might work if you sub cukes and do the cukes in chunks. NO SUGAR ADDED PICKLED BEETS 7 lbs of 2- to 2-1/2-inch diameter beets 4 to 6 onions (2- to 2-1/2-inch diameter), if desired 6 cups white vinegar (5 percent) 1-1/2 tsp canning or pickling salt 2 cups Splenda� 3 cups water 2 cinnamon sticks 12 whole cloves Yield: About 8 pints Otherwise there is the standard NCHFP Quick Pack Dill recipe that you could reduce the sugar in. Also check out the Recipes for Special Diets in the BBB. Dave Here is a link that might be useful: Quick pack Dills NCHFP

The form of the sweetener does make a difference, though research in this area is just beginning. Fruits preserved with Splenda are not an issue. Essentially what you're doing is canning fruit in water; the impact on texture and keeping qualities once opened will be the same as if just water had been used. But pickles present special problems. Note this account from the NCHFP of problems with pickled beets [I've italicized for emphasis]: "Recently, a question was asked regarding changing the sugar in pickled beets. The person made pickled beets using fructose and Splenda® in place of the sugar. A few weeks later, the lids popped loose and juice was coming out while transporting the jars to a relative in another state. This never happened when regular sugar was used. What could have gone wrong? There is rarely one simple answer to these situations. Common solutions include bacterial growth, poor seal, chips around the jar rim, food particles on the jar rim, old lids, lifting the jars by the lid instead of the jar rim, or not following manufacturerÂs directions in preparing the lids. In this scenario, however, another factor must be considered as the problem. The use of different sugars. Sugar will dissolve in water. When this occurs, it will raise the boiling point of water. Different sugars have different molecular weights per molecule. Therefore, this weight difference may raise the boiling point only 1°F or it may raise it 5°F as examples. This change affects how long a food must be processed to be considered safe. In the case of the pickled beets, the fructose and Splenda® are quite different in weight than sugar. Therefore, using the same processing time from the original recipe was probably not adequate. The beets were beginning to show signs of spoilage. This is one example why we recommend using tested recipes from sources such as the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning or from the Cooperative Extension Service." So I wouldn't make a pickled recipe with Splenda (for canning) unless it had been specifically developed for that product. However, I know Ken has had good luck with Splenda-sweetened pickles and his take on this issue may be different. Beverly Alfeld's new book Pickles to Relish does offer several recipes with Agave substituting for sugar. However, I don't know the pH of Agave nectar and whether she's using Agave in pickles with a low enough pH to allow for differences in sweeteners. She does caution to be very careful in subbing one sweetener for another. For example, she has customers who are interested in maple syrup as a natural sweetener for pickles, but maple syrup in several cases raised the pH to the unsafe level. So again, until more is known, I'd stick with recipes tested for the sweetener you would like to use. But that's just my point of view. You might see if your library can obtain Alfeld's book so that you can take a look at the recipes which call for Agave. ...

Here's the Bread and Butter Refrigerator Pickles I make. Got the recipe from a friend who's name is also Linda LOL Her mom made these for years. Bread and Butter Pickles Makes 2 Qts. 3 white onions sliced thin 4 qts pickling cukes about 24 cut thin in 1/4 inch slices Mix and pour over cukes & onions 4 cups granulated sugar 1/2 tbsp turmeric 1/2 tbsp celery seed 1/2 tbsp mustard seed 1/4 cup pickling salt (this keeps the liquid clear) 4 cups white vinegar Divide into 2 1 qt jars or 4 pint jars that have been sterilized DO NOT COOK Put into the refrigerator and let stand two (2) week before using. Shake two to three times a day. Enjoy!! I also have a recipe for Mustard Pickles that are very yummy!! Mustard Pickles 1 1/2 qts sliced pickling cukes 1/4 inch thick 1/1/2 qts small onions (may use boiling onions) 1/1/2 qts cauliflower sections 3 qts cold water 3/4 cup pickling salt Soak pickles, onions and cauliflower overnight in water and salt. Drain Combine the following and remove 3 cups 1 qt white vinegar 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar 1/3 cup mustard seed 2/3 cup AP flour Bring the 3 cups of dressing to a boil. Add drained veggies and cook until fork tender Add the rest of the ingredients and make a smooth paste, simmer a few mins. Put into sterilized jars and seal with a HWB 10 Min's at high altitude 20 mins.