| If you find the writing below boring/snoring please say so. I hate to be yelling out and not knowing if anyone hears me.
Since many people have shown an interest in making a similar to Claussen half sour dill, as opposed to Linda Lou's FULLY FERMENTED pickles. I decided to sit down the last 3 days and do many experiments with MY method for the brine making. The MAIN reason for this post is because Prednisone (and next Chemo) are on my list of health issues, and I have almost totaly lost all sense of taste and smell now (very bad for me). With many failed attemps at recent brine tasting, you can imagine every single bad smell and taste in your life all being sensed at once. Water to me is gagging
My recent posts for creating a salt brine were based on my personal experiences and learning the tasting method as a kid by my Polish grandmother, which involved the PROPER amount of salt required to get a good brine salt/water ratio. Its now apparent to me that Alton Brown (Good Eats) has been able to decipher some of the mystery of what the ratio should be at as amounts needed. His basic brine recipe involves a WEIGHT amount of 5.5 OUNCES of pickling salt (or again, BY WEIGHT additive free KoSHER salt) THOROUGLY dissolved in a MEASURED gallon of good tasting ROOM TEMPERATURE, COLD water.
ALL THIS IS STEP BY STEP!!
Here is where I take it further. I use several coursly cut cloves of garlic, a few FULL fresh dill seed heads (and/or swelled greend, or mature/drier brown color). As well as several green dill weed branches. All herbs and garlic (even a SINGLE PEPPERCORN if you like!!) are stuffed to the bottom into big jars, I like the Ball 1/2 gallon size. Then, I pick, rinse, clean, and cut off BOTH ends of very fresh pickling cukes (ONLY!). Fresh, means they may still be wet with early morning dew, or you see the farmer just carrying them in from the field. In any case FRESH picking cukes are are a must. Once trimmed of both end tips (up to 1/8 inch thick slice) is done, they get packed in the herb filled jars tighly. You can cut some in halves or quarters, but I like whole and cut at serving time. If they are big, long, and fat, you do MUST consider whether to actually use them (big seeds, tough, soft, etc?), or cut into pieces small enough to pack better in the jars.
Then pack the prepared cukes tightly to about an inch from the top of each jar rim. The salt/water brine is now added to about 1/2 inch from the top. Next, they get a NEW ball lid, and a BALL PLASTIC cover over that to help hold the lid on. FLIP the filled and capped jars over a few tmes to loosen and release any air bubbles trapped inside, then place back upright and give them a 'quick twist' about twice a day to mix a bit. Leave on the kitchen counter for 2 days to start it working. Usually NO bubbles will be seen at this time, except maybe a few coming from the cukes, so don't bother looking. You can slightly loosen a cap and maybe hear a slight gas hiss, MAYBE. Then at the two days (thats 48 hours for you who do not know?), you can open a jar, check liquid level adjust, and even sample a small piece off the top cuke now under the brine, and maybe even shrunken a bit. It may still taste bland, but should have at least a 'hint' of salty and maybe dill. Under salted brines will spoil fast and make the cukes mush very fast. If its not mushy, bland, or bitter (as some earlier cukes can become bitter right on the vines), you now have an option of only ADDING a bit more salt or adding (dilute) water. Taste, but keep in mind that 2 days is hardly enough time to to get a decent true half sour flavor yet. If you prefer, they can be left another day or up to about 5 days total at room temps. At that time you should start to notice a taste change IF all goes well. This in NOT a 100% fool proof, but close. When you have tasted, sampled, adjusted, tweaked and played with this, they are now given a tablespoon of white distilled vinegar (slows/stops further fermenting). Capped again, flipped, and mixed so the small amount of vinegar is evenly distributed inside.
A special note: If you see VERY cloudy brine or scums, something is going wrong.. Do not go further, as they are not doing the right thing now! Cant help, as I have never encountered that issue here.
Once gently recapped, and agitated a bit, place in fridge and leave a few days longer. Then you can start to taste, or consume, or toss (unless you if you have to). These DEFINATELY keep in a good cold fridge for up to a year! Trust me! If there is any trace of white scum later on, its usually no problem, just dig out the scum, or rinse it off if its stuck on a pickle, and serve. Be sure that the brine covers all the cukes inside.
Here is the BOLDER fun part:
In the past, I have also mentioned the use of Ball and Mrs. Wages dill pickle mixes and Kosher dill pickle mixes. Today, I carefully examined each pouch and brand, and determined that SOME Ball dill pickle mixes contain SUGAR as the first ingredient! OBVIOUSLY NOT GOOD for a half sour dill pickle brine! The Mrs. Wages brand seems to be a better choice for a mix. Their 'Quick Process Dill pickle package is what I prefer to use now. Here is the slight change/modfication I made. The WEIGHT of the original amount of salt (and in this case, spices, tumeric, alum trace, and any additives) are calculated into a 6 OUNCE BY WEIGHT, IN PLACE OF of the original 5.5 ounces of just plain salt. Mix this weight of mix into a good tasting gallon of water (very hard water, cloudy, high chlorine, or iron a no-no!!). Mix well and follow the same instructions as above as to using fresh garlic, and the all important, and very precious pickling cukes.
The timing, and activities are basiclaly the same. But in this case, the brine is a brigher yellow color due to the tumeric in the mix, which I found nearly tasteless, and used mosly for color only. (Think yellow Indian Curry, high in many spices and bright yellow color). Bet you would not even taste a tumeric there!!
At any point, you will soon realize that these have a very definate and very bold taste of dill. Far surpassing the plain salt/water brine. If I had no mixes, the garlic and dill amounts are doubled or more, and maybe even tripled. Or even better, simmered a few minutes in the intended to be brined water, and cooled, so they release more flavor to the brine water.
Above, is exremely detailed and is about 3 days of work, and FIVE hours of typing alone! I just hate to see such a nice recipe for a really favorite pickle. Soon, its absolutely no salt for me under DR, orders, and next who knows what. Its not an uphill battle with me as to health anymore. so please save and treasure what you get out of life now, so its hopefully never lost.
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