Grandmas Fermented Dill Pickles Recipes

GRANDMA'S DILL PICKLE RECIPE

Steps:

• Sterilize your preserving jars with either boiling water or by placing them in an oven at 130°C/265°F for thirty minutes. Whatever your method of sterilization, allow the jars to cool before packing them with your ingredients. While they're cooling, take your jar's lids and place them in bowl of boiling hot water. Leave them there until you need to fit them onto the jars.
• Wash your gherkins and start packing them into your jars. If they're small, pop them in whole but if medium to large cut them into slices. This helps to get more into the jar and also for easier serving once the jar is opened. For each quart of pickles you'll add half a teaspoon of black peppercorns, two whole garlic cloves and plenty of dill.
• Make the brine: for approximately every four quarts of tightly packed gherkins you'll need to bring two quarts of water and one quart of white vinegar to a boil. Add 1/2 cup of salt and stir until dissolved. Let this cool until just warm and then pour it into each of the jars, filling to a centimeter (just less than 1/2") below the top of the jar's brim.
• Clean the tops of the jars then fit on your preserving lids and screw the rings on. Most every preserving recipe will tell you to not over-tighten the rings but in my experience I've found that it's best to twist them on fully but not super tight. If they're too loose then the contents of your jars can leak out in the water bath.
• Place a metal preserving rack or towel at the bottom of a deep preserving pan and then place the jars inside. The jars should be at least an inch apart and the pan needs to be deep enough to have the jars inside with over an inch of water comfortably covering the tops.
• Cover the jars with warm/hot water from the tap then bring the pan to a boil. Boil the jars for fifteen minutes then lift them out of the water. If you're using a towel at the bottom of the pan then you'll need a 'jar lifter' tool available at many kitchen shops. Set the jars on the counter and allow to cool. You'll know that the jars are properly sealed when you hear the lids popping.
• Allow the pickles to infuse with the brine for at least two weeks before eating them. Stored in jars in a cool pantry your pickles will last up to a year, though I doubt you'll be able to let them sit there that long.

GRANDMA'S DILL PICKLES

Steps:

• Wash and dry cucumbers and trim away blossom ends (which contain enzymes) because that will make the pickles limp. Cut the cucumbers into spears.
• In a large glass or pot layer cucumbers and ice. Dissolve half of the pickling or canning salt into 4 cups of water. Pour the water mixture over the cucumbers.
• If necessary place a large clean inverted plate on top of the cucumbers and weigh the plate down so the cucumbers stay submerged. Refrigerate for 12 hours but no longer than 18.
• Transfer the cucumbers to a colander placed over the sink and drain. Rinse the cucumbers with cool running water, drain thoroughly and set aside.
• Prepare a water-bath- canner, lids and rings. Wash canning jars in hot soapy water and rinse well. Fill the jars with hot water and place in the canning pot and sterilize the jars in boiling water. Remove jars and place on a towel on the counter.
• In a small saucepan, bring approximately 3 inches of water to a simmer. Add the lids and rings, cover the saucepan and remove from heat.
• Tie the pickling spice and bay leaves in a square of cheesecloth, creating a spice bag.
• In a large stainless steel saucepan, combine remaining 2 cups of water, vinegar, remaining pickling salt, sugar and spice bag.
• Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve the salt and sugar. Reduce heat, cover and gently boil for 15 minutes, until the spices have infused the liquid (brine).
• Pack the cucumber spears into the jars within a half a inch from the top of the jar. Add 1 fresh head of dill or 1/2 teaspoon dill seed per pint , 1 teaspoon mustard seed, one clove garlic and 1/4 teaspoon pickle crisp granules to each hot jar.
• Ladle hot pickling brine into hot jars to cover cucumbers, leaving 1/2 inch head space. Remove any air bubbles and add more hot brine if needed.
• Wipe the rims of each jar with a clean cloth. Center lids on jar and screw on bands to fingertip tight.
• Place the jars in the hot water bath canner onto the canning rack (you do not want the jars to come in contact with the bottom of the canning pot), ensuring they are completely covered with water.
• Bring to a boil, cover and process jars (quart size jars 15 minutes, pint size jars 10 minutes).
• Remove canner lid and wait 5 minutes before removing jars to a the counter lined with a thick kitchen towel. As the jars cool the lids will pop and seal.
• When completely cool make sure lids are pressed down in the middle and sealed. If the lids are not sealed then reprocess again.
• Pickles are ready to eat about one week after canning. Store jars in a your pantry for up to 12 months.

FERMENTED DILL PICKLES

Steps:

• Grape leaves keep the pickles crisp. Ask for them at a farmers' market, or as an alternative, add 1/2 teaspoon alum powder to each jar before filling.
• Sterilize the jars: Wash the jars, lids and bands in hot soapy water and rinse well. Place a canning rack or folded kitchen towel in the bottom of a stockpot and fill halfway with water. Add the jars, making sure they are submerged. Bring to a boil and boil 10 minutes. Remove with a jar lifter or tongs and place on a clean towel. Put the lids and bands in a saucepan of simmering water until ready to use.
• Make the brine: Combine 13 cups water with the pickling salt in a large pot and bring to a boil, whisking to dissolve the salt. Set aside.
• Fill the jars: In the bottom of each sterilized jar, add a layer of cabbage leaves, 1 garlic clove, 1 grape leaf, 2 chiles and a tuft of crown dill. Pack the jar with cucumbers, standing them upright and getting in as many as you can. Top each jar with another garlic clove, grape leaf, chile and tuft of crown dill.
• Add the brine: Ladle the hot brine into each jar (use a funnel if you have one), leaving 1/8 inch headspace. You may not need all of the brine.
• Close the jars: Wipe the jar rims with a cloth dipped in boiling water. Screw the sterilized lids on tight-as tight as you possibly can.
• Ferment the pickles: Once the jars cool, transfer them to a warm place (75 degrees For so) and let the pickles ferment 1 week. This is the warm jump-start period; the brine should get cloudy and the lid tops should become tight with pressure. Then transfer the jars to a cool, dark place and wait at least 6 weeks and up to6 months before eating.
• Be careful opening the jars-fermentation causes the brine to carbonate and it may spray. And don't worry if the garlic changes color; it's still edible.

FERMENTED KOSHER-STYLE DILL PICKLES

Steps:

• Pour 1/2 gallon of water into a large container or pot. Cover loosely and allow to sit for 24 hour to allow dissolved chlorine to escape.
• Crisp cucumbers by storing in the refrigerator or soaking in very cold water for 1 hour.
• Bring 1 cup water to a boil in a saucepan. Add salt and stir to combine. Set aside to cool.
• Wash cucumbers in cold water and remove any blossoms that may be clinging to them. Quarter large cucumbers lengthwise. Cut medium cucumbers in half lengthwise. Leave gherkin-sized cucumbers whole.
• Peel and gently crush garlic cloves, but don't splinter them into fragments.
• Pour cooled salt water into a 1/2-gallon Mason jar. Add cucumbers, garlic, dill, and dried chile peppers, arranged attractively. Pack cucumbers tightly; they will shrink as they pickle. Fill the jar with the dechlorinated water until cucumbers are just covered to avoid overly diluting the brine.
• Loosely cover the jar and set aside at room temperature. Set the jar on a dish if it is very full, to catch any dribbles. Give the pickles 12 to 24 hours to begin fermenting. Refrigerate them, in brine and loosely covered, as they approach the stage of pickling you prefer: new, half-sour, or sour. Don't overshoot the mark, as refrigeration slows, but does not stop, fermentation.

GRANDMA'S DILL PICKLES

Steps:

• Wash cucumbers using cloth and cold water.
• Drain, Place in large crock or pot.
• Mix 1 1/2 cups salt and 32 cups water to make 5% brine. If you need to, mix more in same proportions to cover cucumbers.
• Poor brine over cucumbers and let stand 24hrs, then drain.
• Wash and sterilize jars and lids. Keep jars in boiling hot water untill ready to use. Keep lids with seals in simmering (NOT BOILING)water untill ready to use.
• Combine Vinegar, 3/4 cups salt, sugar, and 9 cups water.
• Tie mixed pickeling spices in cheese cloth and add to vinegar, sugar, salt and water.
• Heat to boiling then discard cheese cloth.
• Pack cucumbers in clean HOT jars.
• Add 2 teaspoons mustard seed, alum, 1-2 garlic cloves, 3 heads dill or 1 tabelspoon dill seed to each jar.
• Cover with boiling water, filling jars 1/2" from top.
• Put seals and lids on, process in a canner. If you don't have a canner, you can cover the jars with BOILING water and place in your oven at 200F for about 20 minutes. The jars and liquid need to be hot in order for it to seal.