Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
judydel_gw

Excess pickling cukes

judydel
10 years ago

My husband's pickling cukes are extra prolific this year. Yesterday I picked 7 lbs of small ones and put them directly in the fermenting crock. This is my second batch :)

My question is this. I have about 7 lbs of small pickling cukes that were picked within the past week. Is there anything great that I can do with these? I don't want to take the chance of making soft pickles. Should I use them for relish or what? I should mention that I already made sweet summer squash relish. I don't think I need to make more of that. But maybe a hotter hot dog relish? Ideas appreciated. Also, I've never made vinegar pickles. Would these be good for that?

TIA

This post was edited by judydel on Sun, Aug 25, 13 at 16:01

Comments (9)

  • myfamilysfarm
    10 years ago

    Did you make enough to last a couple of years? If you have a really good recipe, how about making up some for Holiday gifts. People really seem to like getting gifts like that. I've sold several jars of jam and pickles to people that are giving them as gifts.

  • 2ajsmama
    10 years ago

    How long ago were they picked? I wouldn't use them for pickles if they're more than 2 days old - you may have to make relish since it doesn't matter if they're not as crisp.

    Any you picked this weekend could be fermented or canned as a quick vinegar pickle - Linda Ziedrich has some good recipes in her Joy of Pickling. I haven't tried any from NCHFP. But I made 4 quarts and 4 pints (plus 1 quart-sized PB jar to stick in the fridge) of her Really Quick Dills (vinegar) in spears yesterday and have another 4-5lbs of cukes picked yesterday to do today, have to decide if I'm going to do dill or sweet, I've got 3 gal of half sours fermenting and about a quart left in fridge, but I've made 3 batches (1 canned, rest in fridge) of Bread and Butters this year already. I guess I can do both - could use some more B&Bs for the pantry since they're my dad's favorite and I still have dill chips from last year still. We're not relish fans either.

    Hoping more ideas coming since I don't know what to do with mine either!

  • myfamilysfarm
    10 years ago

    I've used pickling cukes up to 1 week old without any problems, using Mrs. Wages mix packets. Also used the recipe off of the Splenda website, good results.

    I had made about 2 dozen B&B (regular) 1st time around and needed to make another 3 dozen this weekend. I'm selling them and faster than I expected. Almost the entire 1st batch.

  • 2ajsmama
    10 years ago

    DS decided for me - B&B pickles with coriander and celery seed plus cloves. He said "You really have to get that Pickle Law figured out!"

    Does Mrs. Wages have calcium chloride in it? I've never made pickles or salsa or anything from a mix. I do have PC - forget to use it every batch, but I did use it in 4 of the pints of dill spears yesterday (about 1/8tsp per pint).

  • myfamilysfarm
    10 years ago

    I know it has citric acid, but not sure about the calcium chloride. I really like using Mrs. Wages mixes, only bad thing is that I never buy enough and have to make another run to store.

  • seysonn
    10 years ago

    If the cukes look without any spots, I would go ahead and use them. Firstly, you wash them well. Then, when when you pour that boiling brine on them any bad bacteria on the surface will be killed. Then, salt/vinegar/ citric acid .. create an environment that MOST bacteria cannot survive to cause any harm if they ever exist.

  • seysonn
    10 years ago

    oops! Double

    This post was edited by seysonn on Thu, Aug 29, 13 at 22:53

  • lakelifer
    10 years ago

    The bread and butter pickle recipe on food.com is how I usually use pickling cukes. I never saw a recipe with all reviews being 5 stars from a feedback database that large.

  • digdirt2
    10 years ago

    Judy - So what did you end up doing with them and how did it work out?

    Dave