JAR 'DEM PICKLES!

Pickling is so damn easy. Refrigerator pickles or old fashioned brined pickles, makes no difference: You'll need the same ingredients, the same containers and a little patience.

• Ice water
• Cucumbers (3-4lbs)
• Vinegar (4 cups)
• Dill (a couple handfulls) 
• Garlic (1 bulb)
• Pickling Salt
• Sugar
• *Alum
• *Whole Peppercorns
• * Mustard seeds
• *Calcium Chloride (Pickle Crisp)

SLICERS VS PICKLERS! First, before you begin, let's talk CUKE! Do you have the right kind? There's a difference between your standard English salad cucumber (left) and a pickling cucumber (right). The skin on the cukes to the left are tougher and slightly bitter, while the cukes to the right have a thinner skin and a sweeter consistency... Perfect for CRUNCH!  I'm not saying you can't pickle the cucumbers to the left. Not at all! But, they aren't going to be those crispy pickles that you imagined. Trust me.

VINEGAR! GET CREATIVE! 
Don't be afraid to mix it up! I make an INSANE asian inspired pickle that I mix with seasoned rice wine vinegar. In another recipe, I use apple cider vinegar for my tart-n-tangy mix. The sky is the limit! Don't be afraid to try new things. Hint: Add some hot peppers in there for a spicy kick with a white/cider vinegar mix!

ADDITIVES: Calcium Chloride and Alum are both food additives. The Calcium Chloride in "Pickle Crisp" is a firming agent. It helps to preserve the ripeness of the cucumber, keeping it crisp, specifically with hot brining. Alum is "iffy."  It can create a crisper pickle, but, too much can cause bitterness to the brine. I would choose the Alum over a grape leaf, though. (Many old fashioned pickling recipes call for a grape leaf to be placed at the bottom of the mason jar. Grape leaves have tannins that help naturally ripen the cuke, but, it also releases those bitter tannins into the brine, leaving you with a funky spear) If you aren't an über organic cook, go with the CC. PS: You don't need these if you are cold packing your pickles. 

Terrifically Tangy Pickles:

(Refrigerator or Old Fashioned Brine) 

It's a BAP: Big Ass Pickler
(next to a Zucchini) 

1) Sterilize your mason jars! Botulism is bad!  (I used the big mason's for this project. My cukes got HUGE this year. No seriously... check it out!
2) Add some dill, a clove or two of garlic and 1/4 tsp of CC or Alum to the bottom of your jars
3) If you have them, add 1/2 tsp of whole peppercorns and mustard seeds.
4) Make a LARGE bowl of ice water  Slice your cucumbers and add them to the ice bath. Let them sit for 20 minutes to chill!
*5) In another bowl dissolve 1 cup of pickling salt and 1/2 sugar to 3 1/2 cups of white, distilled vinegar. Add 1/2 cup of cider vinegar

*** If you are going old fashioned, simmer #5's ingredients ***

6) Pack your icy cukes into the mason jars with the skin facing outward, toward the glass. I've found that it's easier to pack them that way.

Now... TASTE THE BRINE! Is it TOO salty? TOO sweet? Remember this is a super tangy version of dill pickles. Cucumbers harbor a TON of water already that helps to dissolve the tang. If the brine is too much for your tastebuds, add some water to it.  

7) Pour your cold or hot liquid over them and fill until the brine just covers the top of the spears and put a lid on it. If you are cold packing, immediately put those bad boys in the fridge. They should be ready to eat in 2 days. (They'll taste better the longer they rest, though) If you are hot brining the old fashioned way, seal them and drop them in a canning bath for 15 minutes. Let them rest until cool and they should be ready to eat within a few weeks. If you are new to the jarring process, check on my Jarring101: On the Cheap info.

Wanna make SRIRACHA PICKLES?