Tableau Vivante

Back east, I remember going to the old Eastern Market in D.C. and buying a gigantic sour dill pickle from a huge, murky glass crock. It was wrapped in a little paper diaper that did little to protect me from the dripping brine, but if you like pickles, and I do, you don’t much care. Sure you’ll smell like dill and vinegar and maybe a little garlic and bay, but it’s a price worth paying, and if you want your own special crock-o-pickles, it’s an effort worth undertaking if you have a little time and a lot of patience.

Right now, the markets around here are overflowing with the nubby little Kirby cucumbers that are best for pickling. The recipe I’m following asks for 10 pounds, which is about a plastic grocery bag’s worth, and makes approximately seven, quart jars of dill pickle goodness. You just need a giant tub or crock, the right bits and pieces, and time. When I sidled up to the vendor to pay for my cucumbers, she nodded knowingly. “Sour or sweet?” she asked. “Garlic dills,” I replied. She raised an eyebrow. “How long you brine?” “Three weeks.” “Dedicated then. Good luck.” Dedicated, or just really interested in the process. I’ve only made pickles once before, and that was a two-day refrigerator recipe that was an ok tide me over, but not even a close match to what I really wanted.

I started off making the brine so the salt would be dissolved by the time I was done washing and trimming the cukes. Even at this stage it smells so very very lovely. One point of note – most of your pickling ingredients are things found easily at your grocery or health food store (some people blend their own pickling spices, but I like the generic Montecito brand bulk pickling spice mix. Super easy.). The one piece I had some trouble finding was pickling salt. There’s nothing special about it other than the fact that it doesn’t have any other additives like anti-caking agents or iodine. Other salts, like table or even rock salt, may have added ingredients that can discolor your pickles. I finally did find some at a cooking supply store. Order online ahead of time if you can’t find anything local. When everything’s been added, swirl the tub and admire what you have accomplished. I did. Even at this stage of the process, I have to say I got a little excited. My pickles won’t be ready for weeks yet. But the brine told the story of what was to come. Mmmm! Such a promising aroma.

It’s important to choose your cukes carefully, cleaning them thoroughly and slicing off the blossom end of the cuke. Don’t use cukes that are bruised, old, or cut. The fermentation process has its own perils, you don’t need to accidentally add potential rot to the mix by putting in a compromised cuke. I washed mine with a soft veggie brush, hummed a little made-up cucumber tune, and admired how the sunlight glistened off the emerald green skin. Ooooo. Aaaaaah.

Once the blossom-end is nipped off, it’s time for their three week swim in the brine, submerged for the duration with the help of a clean plate. Well, three weeks if you want them good and sour, which I do. Two and a half for a milder sour. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be doing a daily skim off the top of the brine and watching the cukes for a nice even color change to a uniform olive green. Requests for samples from friends and family will have to be carefully considered. Unless I make another batch next week, which will happen if Lily comes through with that crowned dill we spoke about. My brother told a friend of his that these were in process and apparently I’m his new favorite person. I think my goal is to get more people to do this themselves though - be the catalyst of a pickle revolution. We already have a great pickle factory here in East LA for those of you looking to avoid the magic of fermenting these on your own. But seriously. Give it a go. It’s the season for it.

Classic Garlic Dill Pickles

From exploratorium.edu: Follow recipe exactly. Careful setting up and monitoring of conditions—ingredient quantities, temperature, time, and cleanliness—are essential to the success and safety of fermented pickles.

10 pounds pickling cucumbers, 3 1/2 to 5 inches in length

1/4 cup whole mixed pickling spices

2 bunches of fresh dill

1 cup white vinegar

3/4 cup coarse pickling salt

1 gallon of water

10 fresh garlic cloves, peeled

Using a soft vegetable brush, thoroughly scrub the cucumbers in cool running water. Cut 1/16 inch off the blossom end. Discard any cucumbers that are bruised or damaged.

Put half the pickling spices and 1 bunch of dill in the bottom of the plastic bucket or crock (I used a big 5-gallon restaurant bucket). Add the cucumbers.

Mix the vinegar, pickling salt, and water, dissolving the salt completely. Pour over the top of the pickles. Add in the garlic, the remaining spices, and the dill.

You must use a weight to fully submerge your pickles in the brine—or risk spoilage during fermentation. To do this, first cover the pickles with a glass or ceramic plate (no metal, please) that’s a bit smaller than the opening of the crock. Then fill a zipper freezer bag with more brine (make the brine with original recipe proportions of salt, vinegar, and water), make sure it’s tightly shut, and place it on the plate.

Cover the crock with a clean towel and store at cool room temperature (70° F–75° F is ideal).

Check the crock every day, and skim off the film that forms on the top (this usually starts after a day or two). Make sure the pickles are covered completely with brine. If necessary, make a little more brine following the original recipe proportions.

The scum on the brine surface is yeast growth. If you don’t remove it, your pickles will spoil.

Let the cucumbers ferment until evenly colored (olive green) or evenly translucent throughout. This should take about 2 1/2 to 3 weeks. At this point, you can safely eat the pickles. If your pickles are not yet well-flavored with dill, you can leave them in the crock longer—but the total time in the crock should not exceed 3 weeks.

Visit exploratorium.edu for pickling and canning tips. Or your local university extension - they are a fount of great and safe canning info.

EDIT: Also - read this great post that features The Crock of Much Envy and Awesome.  I really need to get one of those.