INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

There are so many factors involved in pickling -- weather and growing
conditions, type of salt, acidity of vinegar, storage temperature,
time from gathering to pickling, processing -- that sometimes things
go wrong. Here are some common problems and causes.  SOFT OR SLIPPERY
PICKLES: Could result from not removing the scum  from the surface of
the brine; from not keeping the cucumbers  submerged in the brine; from
using too weak of brine or vinegar,  using hard water, or not removing
the blossom end of a cucumber; from  not sealing each jar as it is
filled; from not heating long enough to  destroy microorganisms; or
from storing in too warm a spot. Check  jars carefully for signs of
spoilage. SHRIVELED PICKLES: May be the  result of too strong brine,
vinegar, syrup, or pickling solution, or  may mean cucumbers didn't
travel from the field to the kitchen fast  enough. HOLLOW PICKLES:
Could result from too long a time between  pickling and processing,
from improper curing or too high a  temperature during fermentation, or
from bad growing conditions.  Don't use any cucumbers that float as you
wash them. DARK PICKLES:  Indicate iron in the water or cooking
utensil, ground spices or whole  spices left in jars, cooking too long
with spices, or hard water.  FADED, DULL PICKLES: Result from poor
growing conditions or too  mature cucumbers. WHITE SEDIMENT IN THE
BOTTOM OF JARS: It isn't  harmful. It could come from not using pure
granulated salt, or could  be the result of fermentation. Check jars
carefully for signs of  spoilage. SPOILED PICKLES: Means you didn't
process them properly;  that you used old ingredients, nonstandard
jars, or old lids; or that  the pickling solution wasn't boiling hot,
or you filled too many jars  before sealing them. In other words, you
didn't follow directions!  Check jars carefully for signs of spoilage.
Source Vegetable Gardening Encyclopedia Typos by Dorothy Flatman 1995
Posted to MM-Recipes Digest V3 #235  Date: Wed, 28 Aug 1996 21:56:51
-0500  From: pickell@cyberspc.mb.ca (S.Pickell)

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