ncredbird

I am soooooooo glad you asked this question!!! My 16 year old granddaughter and I made pickles for the first time last summer as a special surprise for her step mother who won't eat anything but dills. We had already put up 24 jars of bread and butters for the rest of the family. We worked hard all day and finished 12 jars of them. I kept them at my house until Christmas when we were going to surprise her with them. I had a couple of extra jars for DH and I. I opened one of them and they were so mushy that I didn't want to eat them. The flavor was good but the texture was awful! Anyway, I gave her three jars and told her that I had the rest of them if she had the stomach for them. (I eventually ended up throwing them out).
Well the granddaughter is due to arrive here next week and I hate to tell her we are going to try again. I have even asked around for a pickle coach at church but no one has volunteered.
I brought the subject up with a young woman whose cucumber plants I noticed growing and she explained that her family had been making "closet pickles" for three generations. They put them into jars without processing and keep them in a dark closet until they are ready to eat. (There is a time factor here but I don't have the recipe in front of me) Has anyone ever heard of these? I have concerns about food poisoning. She said they had eaten them all of her life without getting sick and it was the same theory as barrel pickles.
Also, how mature are the cucumbers supposed to be? My first thought was that the cucumbers were too old not that they had been processed too long but I know I had them in the bath canner for longer than 5 minutes. Does altitude make any difference in processing time? Ann in TN

ncredbird

Again there is the 15 minute thing for my altitude. That is what I did last year and it was a disaster! Think I will be trying the 5 minute recipe. Just out of curiosity what is your altitude? Ann in TN

Alice Woodhull

If you had them in the canner more than 5 minutes, that's why they were mushy. If you use the recipe I gave on here last summer, they won't be mushy. If necessary, I will give it again. Our cucumbers are growing so it won't be long until I can get mine made.

ncredbird

No need to give it again. I have put it in Master Cook and plan on using it in a month or two. I have cucumbers but not enough to give me enough at one time to make a batch. Will have to purchase them I think. This isn't something that you can do in small amounts at a time unfortunately. Ann

ncredbird

I have been able to find Pickle Crisp in a few stores this year. May be left from last year but found it at a local grocery and also Lowe's had a canning supplies display at the front of the store and I found it there. Ann in TN

Alice Woodhull

Is Pickle Crisp the same as alum? I use that in sweet pickles for crispness, but I don't use it in Dills.

ncredbird

No, Pickle Crisp is Calcium Chloride. It is used not only with cucumber pickles but with any vegetable that you may be pickling. It is added to the jar and not washed off like you would with Alum. Ann

Barb44

I used to have mushy pickles too, then got some good advice. Start with FRESH cucumbers. Use white vinegar and distilled water. The distilled water really made a difference. My recipe calls for equal amounts of vinegar and water. Also add 1/2 tsp alum in each quart. Process no longer than 5 min. or do not process at all.

For the no process method, you pour the boiling syrup over the cucs to 1/4 in. from top. Put on sterilized lid and tighten ring. Turn upside down on towel until cool. By this time the jars should be sealed. If a jar does not seal put in refrigerator. I know this is not recommended, but my mother did this all of her life and never had a bad jar. I just opened a jar of these that were made 2 years ago and they were excellent. There is so much vinegar that they will not spoil easily. Just make sure everything is very clean when you make them.

ncredbird

Barb44 do you use anything else in your pickles such as spices, sugar, etc? Ann in TN