Quote:
Originally Posted by Zana
Harleysilo,
Sounds like a good pickle recipe. I may just borrow it for one of the batches we run this year. Just to shake it up.
There is a less labour intensive way to wash your cukes, especially if like me you make hundreds of jars of pickles per year. Put them in a top load washer with a verrrrrrry mild soap like sunlight - and you'll need verrrrrry little soap to clean them. Remember you don't want a residue left on them. Set the wash cycle/cold water wash/rinse on gentle with enough water to cover the cukes completely. (To be honest, since I buy mine from organic growers at the farmers' market, I usually just run it through without the soap. )
Trust me this is a huge time saver when doing a bushel or more of cukes in a day...and we're usually doing about 4 to 5 bushels! And no sand to deal with afterwards in the process is a huge bonus.
My family does a yearly marathon - assembly-line-style production. These are a hot pack style method, which pretty much eliminates the need to "process" any of the jars (except those that didn't seal on their own). Usually about 10% of the jars need to be processed, but considering how many we do, that's very few in the long run.
If you're interested in the Armenian Style Dill Pickle Recipe I can post it.
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Wow, i would never have thought to use a cloths washing machine! They don't get bruised up from the agegitator?
I would love to see your receipe! I would also like to hear more about how you prepare yours to prevent something nasty, and your shelf life of the canned pickels.
One of the reasons I like these so much is because they are crispy fresh. If you take a bite of these, and then a bite of a fresh cucumber, they are identical save the flavor. I don't like the mushy kind, or the kind that are too strong with the vinegar taste. How are your after several months regarding crispness?