Deli Pickles Half Sours Recipes

HALF-SOUR DILL PICKLES

Steps:

• In a 2-cup measuring cup, dissolve the salt in 1 cup of hot tap water. When dissolved, add 1 cup cold tap water.
• Trim the small round scab from the blossom end of each cucumber. Tightly pack the cucumbers vertically in a quart jar. Fit the dill sprigs and garlic around the cucumbers. Sprinkle the black pepper and crushed red pepper, if using, on top.
• Add enough of the salt water to the jar to completely cover the contents, leaving about an inch of airspace at the top of the jar. If you have any brine left, save it. Cover the jar with cheesecloth or a kitchen towel secured with a rubber band, or partially screw on the lid.
• Put the jar in a cool room (about 65°F) away from direct sunlight, and let the pickles ferment for 4 days. During this time, bubbles of carbon dioxide gas will become visible inside the jar. Check the pickles daily to make sure they are submerged, and if necessary, top them off with the reserved brine. If they begin to float, weigh them down with a small heavy object, like a stone wrapped in plastic or a small glass jar filled with water. It's OK if the liquid clouds slightly. If it becomes dark or extremely cloudy, mold or fungus is growing in the jar, and the pickles should be discarded.
• After 4 days, taste a pickle. It should be crunchy, lightly sour, and salty, with an aroma of garlic and dill. If you prefer a more sour flavor, let the pickles ferment up to 3 days more, tasting daily. When you're happy with the flavor, refrigerate the pickle jar. The pickles will remain half-sours for up to 2 weeks. Within a few weeks, they will have progressed to fully fermented pickles and will keep for years in the refrigerator.

DELI PICKLES - HALF SOURS

Steps:

• Wash cucumbers. Remove blossom ends carefully to remove soil.
• Place cucumbers in large crock. Distribute the dill heads evenly. Make a brine of the remaining items and add to the cucumbers. Covr with a heavy plate and weigh down with a glass jar filled with water.
• Store at moderate room temperature (70 to 75 degrees F). If scum forms, remove it daily. Pickles may be eaten after third day, but to be at their best pickles need a one week fermentaion. After one week, pack the.
• pickles into clean jars and refrigerate to halt fermentation. These pickles must be kept in the refrigerator.

HALF-SOUR PICKLES (QUICK, SMALL-BATCH)

Steps:

• Gently scrub the cucumbers under running water to remove dirt and any particularly prominent spines on the nubs. Drain. Trim a thin slice from the blossom end and pack the cukes into a one-quart non-reactive container, such as glass or food-grade plastic. You may cut then into halves, slices, or spears if desired.
• Stir the salt and water until the salt dissolves. Add the aromatic/seasoning ingredients to the container with the cucumbers. Put the container on a plate to contain any possible dripping once fermentation begins.
• Pour in enough brine to cover the cucumbers. Push a sandwich-sized Ziploc bag into the container's aperture, fill it with the remaining brine, and seal the bag. The brine-filled bag serves to weigh down the pickles so they remain submerged and seals off the top of the jar while still allowing bubbles to escape. It is filled with brine instead of water, so any possible leakage will not dilute your solution. Cover with cheesecloth and secure it with a rubber band to keep out fruit flies or other flying little beasties you may discover are drawn to this stuff.
• After a few days, the brine may begin giving off tiny bubbles. Keep an eye on it and skim off any white foam that rises to the surface, giving the bag a rinse if necessary. The cucumbers will begin turning darker and to taste, well, brined after just two days. Let them go for a week and they should turn olive green throughout. Remove the bag, skim any new foam, close container fast, and put in the fridge.