How to make pickles

Sterilize the jars.

Make a brine: 12 cups water, 2 cups white vinegar, 3/4 cup salt.

add to a sterilized jar one or two dill heads, some garlic, some peppercorns, and half a teaspoon alum (for crispness).

Fill that jar with cucumbers. Cram them in. top off with brine.

Boil 10 minutes. It’s the brine, not the cooking, that preserves this food.

Wait a minimum of two weeks, and then you may dive in.

My only regret is using ordinary sea salt, which ended up looking a little cloudy. You might try kosher salt or pickling salt or something like that. Dill + garlic + peppercorns = a mighty good pickle. I know this because I’ve been eating them.

~ by Rick on September 22, 2012.