Having lived in the south all my life, I have always been around "homemade pickles." My paternal Grandmother (Maw-Maw) still makes pickles every year. Even though, they're sweet, and not really my favorite, they're still always a hit. Justin has never understood it, but my family always eats pickles with cake. I guess it's that whole salty/sweet thing. While I've been known to have a sweet pickle with my cake, I'm really more of a dill, garlicky kind of girl. I did a little Internet research and decided to try my hand at them.
So, right before we went to the beach (actually it was the night before), I started my pickle making process. I know you're probably thinking, "What moron decides to make pickles the night before they leave town???" uhh....that would be this girl!
First step was to get 15-20 pickling cucumbers...I did that. I also gathered my other ingredients (Vinegar, Sugar, Garlic, Dill Weed, Dill Seed, Whole Peppercorns). I decided to take a couple recipes, and alter them to one "kick-ass" pickle recipe. So that's what I did. I didn't use any alum or anything like that in my recipe like that.
After gathering my ingredients, I cut up the cucumbers (BY HAND) and placed them in a brine overnight. The Brine is what makes the pickles crispy. (so you don't have to use Alum)
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| I washed the cukes, and then sliced them...BY HAND |
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| Next, I sliced them (BY HAND) and place them in a salty brine, overnight. |
| This was a 2-day pickle process. Day 1, cut up cukes and placed them in brine overnight. Then on Day 2, I added the liquid and other ingredients and placed in the jars. So on the morning that we were supposed to be leaving for the beach....I was making pickles! They turned out fantastic! They were loaded with dill and garlic...so while they aren't the best for your breath, they are quite tasty. I will definitely be making more! (but maybe not the night before a beach trip!) | |||||||||||||
The hardest part about the whole thing was cutting up the cucumbers. My Mom asked me why I didn't use a mandolin. My response was that cutting them by hand makes them look more "homemade." In all honesty, I did find it Therapeutic! I know it sounds weird, but it was totally Therapeutic! |
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