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Why do my half sour pickles turn slimy?
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Posted by dred_pickle (My Page) on Wed, Aug 5, 09 at 11:45
| I've made 2 batches of half sour pickles using the 10 liter harsch crock and the included recipe:
4.5-5 kg cucumbers (medium size, hard), several onions, mustard seeds (2-3
tablespoons), cilantro (2-3 tablespoons), bay leaves (10-12), dill, whey (1.4 liters), salt water (30 g per liter).
The first batch turned slimy, so I repeated the same recipe after scrubbing the crock with boiling water and double scrubbing the ingredients.
Despite this 4 days later, there's a white powdery mold on the surface and all of the cukes are all covered with a whitish slime. Despite this, they otherwise look, smell and even taste great.
Any thoughts on what I might be doing wrong or how to remedy this?
Thanks for your help!
Ed
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Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Why do my half sour pickles turn slimy?
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| Don't know what kind of recipe your using, but whey isn't usually added to salt water nased brines. Whey contains protien and can cause very bad results. Half sours are simply salt and water, with added dill and garlic. Then whole cukes with both end tips cut off. No onions, bayleaf, mustard seed, of any other spice or herb. What your doing is not properly allowing the cukes natural enymes to work with the salt brine to form lactic acid. After a few days you add a small amount of wite distilled vinegar to stablize the brine and then refrigerate. Lactic acid is what makes them sour. Sufficent salt must be added to the water. Too little, and you get mush and quick spoilage, too much salt and its inedible. Suggest that you do a search within this forum for the many hundreds of posts that explain in great detail the amount of salt needed per gallon of water for half sour pickles, as well as the usual herbs used. |
RE: Why do my half sour pickles turn slimy?
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| Check out the Causes and Solutions Troubleshooting Guidelines for fermenting (linked below. It gives several possible causes for slimy/slippery pickles. It also recommends that they be dumped rather than eaten. I agree with Ken, I would never use whey in fermenting pickles and your salt measurement sound too low to me but I'm not good at metric conversions either. Since you have given this unknown recipe 2 shots now with poor results why not try one of the tested and approved recipes? Dave |
Here is a link that might be useful: NCHFP - Causes of Problems with Fermenting Pickles
RE: Why do my half sour pickles turn slimy?
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| Well, I'm coming onto this topic late, but I'm going to play the devil's advocate and say you probably discarded your cukes for no reason. If the pickles are firm and smell and taste great, then they likely are just fine. Odds are the "slime" was just yeast. You skim it off and continue with fermentation. Even with a Harsch crock (and I have one) you may still get some yeast formation. As far as whey is concerned, lots of European recipes call for it. It's just a lactic acid starter. No problem with that either. The American way isn't the only way to make pickles. Carol |
RE: Why do my half sour pickles turn slimy?
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| Maybe the American way isn't like Europe, but herem we also don't have many of the unusual items used and sold in Europe. Some are banned and some are simply unpopular. Because pickling salt and good water are the only things necessary to get cucumbers to ferment, I see no need to introduce any added lactic culture or any kind. Whey isn't just lactic, its also water and the 'waste' after its made into cheese and other dairy products. Lactic acid with all the rest of the stuff in whey can cause quick spoilage. Slimy pickles are usually texture issues and are normally due to insufficient salt in the brine. Without enough salt, the cukes simply absorb water and don't expel as much which is why the salt is there, leaving a much more rubbery soft cuke pickle, or worse, something unsafe to consume. I NEVER have ANY scum or mold on my fermented pickles or its brine, even after a full year of storage in the fridge. |
RE: Why do my half sour pickles turn slimy?
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| the devil's advocate Devil's advocates are good things, Carol. We often learn just as much from them. And that is always the case when it comes to your posts - the learning I mean. ;) Dave |
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