I wondered if anyone has any experience with them, and could offer pointers, tips, or recipes. If anyplace would have someone that would know about these, it would be the Harvest forum.

PRESERVED CITRON

Pare off the outer skin, cut into halves, remove the seeds,
then divide each half into a number of smaller pieces. Put
them in a stone jar, add a half-cup of salt to every five
pounds of citron. Cover with cold water, and stand aside
for five hours ; then drain, and cover with fresh, cold
water. Soak two hours, changing the water three or four
times. Dissolve a teaspoonful of powdered alum in two
quarts of boiling water, add the citron, and bring to boiling
point. Drain. Make a syrup from two and a half
pounds of granulated sugar and one and a half quarts of
boiling water, boil and skim. When perfectly clear, put in
the citron and simmer gently until you can pierce it with a
straw. When tender, lift the pieces carefully with a skimmer,
place them on a large plate, and stand in the sun one
or two hours to harden. Peel the yellow rind from one
large lemon, add it to the syrup, then add the juice of two
lemons, and a small piece of green ginger-root cut in thin
slices. Boil gently for ten minutes, and stand aside until
wanted. When the citron has hardened, put it cold into
the jars, bring the syrup again to a boil, and strain it over
the citron.
Watermelon rind and pumpkin may be preserved in
the same manner.

Skip the alum. It only works for fermented pickles. And even if it did work, what's the use of including a crisping agent in a recipe where you're supposed to cook until the product is tender enough to pierce with a straw?

Carol

Please note this quote from Utah's extension service:

"If you choose to use firming agents, alum (aluminum potassium sulfate) may be used to firm fermented pickles, but has little crispness effect on quick-process pickles. Alum will increase firmness when used at levels up to 1/4 teaspoon per pint. Addition of greater than 1/4 teaspoon alum per pint will decrease firmness."

Or how about the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning:

"Alum may be safely used to firm fermented pickles."

Alum is definitely a crisping agent and is called for in many traditional fermented pickle recipes, including quite a number of sweet pickles and products like maraschino cherries.

It is no longer necessary in many recipes as its use has been supplanted by other products, but I could find hundreds of reputable sources which list it as a firming agent.

And yes, it is an astringent in such things as styptic pencils, but one use doesn't preclude the other.

Carol

I'm not too worried about the health effects, or lack thereof, of alum, because hey, there are a WHOLE lot of things more likely to kill me, IMO, than a little tiny bit of alum. I'm not trying to make fun of the possible effects of aluminum consumption on Alzheimers or other disorders, but, if you saw the traffic I drive in to get to work, with all of the nutso drivers on the road, you too would realize that consuming small amounts of aluminum once in a while aren't the biggest risks to my life that I face!

I would like to try Calcium chloride for some of my pickles, but I can't find it anywhere in food grade.

So, what is the scoop or consensus on alum -- forget it totally, use it only in fermented pickles as stated above, or use it when the recipe calls for it and don't worry about it?

My links contradict yours, but do state that it 'could' be used, however they do not recommend it, and further state that pickling lime would be safer to use IF you needed help in keeping things crisp.

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1397/what-is-alum-and-will-it -make-someones-mouth-shrink-like-in-the-cartoons

I made them today -- turned out pretty nice, a very useable product, IMO.

I have posted photos about over on Idigmygarden forum. If interested, click on the link.