I'm in a PICKLE!!!

[Jewel]

I'm calling on my friends, the experts!! I've been invited to my best buddy's house on Saturday to help her make her first batch of pickles! I've never made these things, and neither has she! She wants to make Cayenne Pickles and supposedly has some kind of instructions or recipe :rolleyes: but since neither one of us has done this before, I was hoping some of you who've taken the 'Pickle Plunge' can help! Any tips to offer a few novices? I've never heard of Cayenne Pickles but they sound good! I have a feeling it's going to be a fun day of drinking wine and trying to figure out what the heck we're doing, but I would appreciate any helpful hints anyone can offer!! :D

[keeganm]

I absolutely love homemade pickles, it takes me back to when I was little and my grandmother used to make them...oh how I wish she taught me how to do it! She also pickled carrots and celery too. What a project, please let us know how they turn out and if they are as difficult as I think they are...who knows, maybe some of us will tackle them too! :D

[browneye]

Jewel,
I have done pickles several times, and I can tell you it is not difficult and really, really fun!!!
Here are a couple pointers-I don't know exactly what kind of pickles these are, whether sweet or sour, brined or fresh pack, etc...So I'll keep the comments general.
Be sure you leave enough head space between the pickles and the top of the jar to ensure a proper seal. In general, everything must be very, very clean and sterile.
The air bubbles must all be removed from the jar. This is accomplished by sliding a clean knife down and sort of "burping" the jar....:D
When you process in a boiling water bath, be sure the water completely covers the tops of the jars.
Here is a good site for info on canning, and includes principles and recipes!
http://extension.usu.edu/publica/foodpubs.htm
have fun!

[Melman]

Jewel, I can't remember if you're one of the many Alton Brown/Good Eats fans or not. AB did a show on making several kinds of pickles. It seems like one of recipes might have been called Firecrackers or something like that. All the transcripts for his shows are on www.goodeatsfanpage.com (I think that's the link). I'm sure he has a ton of information that could make your pickling experience more interesting!!

[Little Bit]

I'm a fan of Good Eats too, just thought I'd add this link:
http://www.goodeatsfanpage.com/EpisodeInfo.htm#Pickle

The episode is called American Pickle.
Quick FYI, the pickles he makes are designed to be refrigerated, not put in canning jars and sealed. The batches are sort of small, making for a nice sized project for someone just getting started with pickling, of whatever variety.

The recipes themselves are on the Food TV website, here's a link to one of them:

http://www.foodtv.com/foodtv/recipe/0,6255,13199,00.html

If you'll be putting things up in canning jars, I'd recommend that you find a copy of The Ball Blue Book. It's got lots of information on food safety, canning techniques, recipes, etc.

[Beth]

Sounds like a spicy dill variation to me. Are you planning on canning or just packing and refrigerating? Either way, make sure you have all the blossom end off the cukes. That little end of a blossom contains an enzyme that can cause the pickles to be mushy.

Check out the website for Ball www.homecanning.com

I'd be glad to give more tips if I knew more about what you're going to be trying.

[Jewel]

Thanks everyone!! I won't find out what type of canning we'll be doing, I won't find out until tomorrow when I get there since I'm just 'helping' :rolleyes: but I'll keep the computer on at her place and check out these helpful websites when we have questions, no matter what we do! Beth, thanks for the tip on the blossom end, that's something I remember hearing somewhere, but I surely would have forgotten it tomorrow! :D Usually, I'm not into this canning stuff, and I'm really not into pickles, but any experience in the kitchen is never wasted!! Thanks again!

If anyone else has any tips, I'm glad to hear them!

[Beth]

Pickles are really pretty easy (dills are one of the easiest things to can), except that you have to wait to eat most of them. Hope you have fun. I'll try to check in tomorrow between things and see if you've posted any news.

[MrsReber]

I love making pickles! You can pretty much make them as spicy as you like by simply adding pepper to them! I make them spicy by adding slices of jalepeno peppers and lots of garlic! Yummy! My step mother asks for pickles each Christmas. She eats the bread & butter pickles right out of the jar until they're all gone. I probably won't be making any this year, though. Very sad, but I don't have the time. Let us know how it goes! I will live vicariously through you!