Sodium-sane pickles, second try
About a week ago, I prepped batch #2 of pickles, with certain modifications — some intentional, some accidental. A couple of days ago, I finally opened up that jar.
Jar #2, before (left) and after (right) a week in the fridge
The results? There definitely was not enough dill and too much spice; the common word that everyone used was "strong". I think the apple cider vinegar somehow amplified the distilled white vinegar to give it an even more vinegary taste. The gross overspicing (by a factor of three!), combined with the vinegar, just caused overall palate overload. The salt isn't even really noticeable, and is thus mostly a waste. Finally, there simply was nowhere near enough dill, even before the haze of insane levels of (tasty but strong) pickling spices.
Still, it's a spicy dill pickle, and it's low sodium, and I'm not turning away from them. The consistency is good; firm, but not cucumbery; plenty of extra vegetables (especially onion) to serve as little enjoyable snacks as well.
I look forward to buying another three pickling cucumbers and a fresh batch of dill weed and trying to truly make a more classic dill with batch #3.
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Comments
The collection of spices at the top (neck) of the jar threw off the taste of the first few pieces of onion and pickle spears I had. As the jar goes on, it seems to be getting better and better. Now I'm almost annoyed that I didn't buy more pickling cucumbers and dill at the last trip to Whole Foods.
Ah, well. It'll have to wait for this weekend or next week. (If you think I'm crazy enough to go to a grocery store in the days before thanksgiving, you're dreaming, and that Friday will be a driving and strip mall nightmare — and since the Whole Foods we tend to go to is at North and Sheffield, in the same strip mall as a Best Buy and within two blocks of Sam's, CB2, The Container Store, Sur La Table, a number of fashion boutiques… you get the picture.)
Posted by: Scott Swanson![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://gourmet.truegeek.org/nav-commenters.gif)
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November 21, 2006 9:28 PM
Well, there were no pickling cucumbers to be had at Wild Oats, but I did pick up a decent regular cucumber. I decided to take that, a quarter of an onion, a few cloves of garlic, and a serrano and make a third batch from that. I added the picking spice and a tablespoon of whole dill seed; I kept the salt on board, same levels, and also the bit of apple cider vinegar (though more like a 1:9 ratio this time instead of 1:7). This time, I had way more free space inside the jar, and I fear that I didn't put enough basic ingredients in. It's been in the fridge now for two days (went in on 11/26); we'll see how much brine absorbs and how things look when we hit open day on 12/3.
Posted by: Scott Swanson![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://gourmet.truegeek.org/nav-commenters.gif)
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November 28, 2006 10:17 AM
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