B2267 University of Wisconsin-Extension Cooperative Extension Wisconsin Safe Food Preservation Series Homemade Pickles & Relishes Barbara H. Ingham Contents Fermented pickles 1 Pickle recipes 15 Fresh pack or quick process pickles 2 Fermented or crock pickles 15 Refrigerator pickles 2 Brines for fermented pickles 17 Freezer pickles 2 Fermented pickle recipe 18 Use high quality ingredients 3 Fresh pack and quick process Vegetables and fruits 3 recipes 20 Start with the right ingredients 4 Vegetable pickle recipes 28 Water 5 Fruit pickle recipes 41 Vinegar 5 Relish recipes 46 Salt 6 Refrigerator pickle recipes 52 Use the right amount of salt 7 Freezer pickle recipes 54 Weigh salt for best accuracy 7 Family favorite pickle recipes 57 Sugar 8 Wisconsin Safe Food Preservation Spices, garlic and dill 8 Series publications 59 Grape leaves 9 Web sites 59 Firming agents 9 Recipe index 60 Equipment for fermented or crock pickles 10 Equipment for all pickles 11 Processing in a boiling water canner 12 Sterilizing jars 12 Headspace 14 When jars fail to seal 14 Alternative low-temperature pasteurization process 14 University of Wisconsin-Extension Cooperative Extension hen your garden yields a Both types of pickles are preserved Wsurplus of fresh produce, by acid. The acid may be: or when the farm stand has I acetic acid from commercial prices too low to resist, then it’s time vinegar (5 percent acetic acid) — to make pickles. Follow the research- used in fresh pack or quick tested recipes in this bulletin for safe process pickles and relishes — or and easy preparation and preserva - I lactic acid produced by bacteria tion of your garden bounty. in fermented or crock pickles. Pickling is one of the oldest known methods of preserving foods, and a long-time favorite among home Fermented pickles canners. While cucumbers are the Fermented pickles — also called most popular pickled product, many crock pickles — are produced by other vegetables and fruits can be curing cucumbers or other vegeta - successfully pickled at home. bles in a salt brine for several weeks. To the inexperienced person, pickling During this treatment, salt-tolerant may seem to be a complex proce - bacteria convert carbohydrates dure, laden with mysterious steps (sugars) in the vegetables into lactic and unknown outcomes. In fact, you acid by a process known as fermen - can make safe, high quality pickles if tation. Lactic acid preserves the you remember two basic rules: pickles and gives them their charac - teristic tangy flavor. 1. Use high quality ingredients. The salt concentration is very impor - 2. Follow tested recipes precisely. tant in this process, and is necessary The recipes in this bulletin tell you to encourage growth of the right how to make two different types of types of bacteria. For this reason, you pickles for canning: fermented or will want to use the exact amount crock pickles, and of salt stated in each recipe . fresh pack or Cucumbers fermented in salt brine quick process without added herbs or spices are pickles and called salt stock . They may be stored relishes . in the brine for several months and then made into sour or sweet pickles. Cucumbers fermented in salt brine with added dill, spices and garlic make genuine dill pickles . When completely cured, the cucumber HOMEMADE PICKLES & RELISHES 1 flesh becomes a transparent olive- Use the exact amount of vinegar green. The cured dills are packed in stated in each recipe, or an unsafe canning jars, covered with boiling product may result . Salt or sugar hot brine, and heat processed in a can be decreased in fresh pack boiling water canner for a product pickles with safe results, but pickles that can be enjoyed all year long. may lack some characteristic flavor and texture. Fresh pack or quick Refrigerator pickles process pickles Some pickle recipes that call for Many popular kinds of pickles are enough vinegar (5 percent acetic known as fresh pack or quick acid) can be stored safely in the process pickles . Fresh pack pickles refrigerator at 40° F or colder for up are not fermented. Instead, a hot to 1 month. solution of vinegar and salt (and These pickles do not require heat sometimes sugar) is prepared and processing, but they must be kept poured over the pickles before they refrigerated. Do not decrease the are processed. Pickles prepared in amount of vinegar in these recipes; this way include fresh pack dill an unsafe product may result. pickles, bread-and-butter pickles, and beet pickles. Also in this category are: Freezer pickles If you like to make sweet pickles — I Fruit pickles prepared from fruits and want to make them quickly and such as peaches, pears or apples in the coolest possible way — try simmered in a spicy, sweet-sour making freezer pickles. syrup. For some reason, cucumber and I Relishes prepared from chopped other vegetable slices packed in vegetables or fruits simmered in vinegar and sugar remain crisp when vinegar solutions. frozen. Freezer pickles taste best if After jars are filled, fresh pack pickles chilled. Once thawed, these pickles are processed in a boiling water must be kept refrigerated for use canner. Such pickles are preserved by within 2 weeks. the acetic acid in the added vinegar, and the heat processing. Follow tested recipes precisely. 2 Wisconsin Safe Food Preservation Series You can make many types Use high quality of delicious pickles. ingredients Fermented pickles are produced by Vegetables and fruits Select fresh, firm, high quality veg - fermenting cucum - etables and fruits for pickling. Discard bers or other vegetables in a salt brine bruised, moldy or insect-damaged for several weeks. During fermentation produce. or curing, bacteria convert sugars in Grow or purchase varieties of cucum - the vegetables into lactic acid, which bers that are designed for pickling. preserves the pickles and gives them Pickling cucumbers suited for their characteristic tangy flavor. Wisconsin include Alibi, Bush Pickle, Calypso, Diamante, Eureka, Fancipak, Fresh pack or quick process pickles are Northern Pickling, and Homemade quick and easy to prepare. Vegetables Pickles. Using varieties of cucumbers or fruits are packed in jars, covered designed for pickling will yield a high with a hot vinegar solution, and imme - quality product. diately heat processed. Also in this Although pickling cucumbers make category are pickles prepared from good gherkin pickles at 1 to 2 inches, fruits such as peaches, pears or apples pickles are more typically made from simmered in a spicy, sweet-sour syrup, cucumbers that are 3 to 5 inches long. You can leave them whole, or packaged and processed. Relishes are slice them lengthwise into spears or prepared from chopped vegetables or crosswise into slices or chunks. fruits simmered in a vinegar solution When cucumbers grow longer than before being heat processed. 5 inches, they are best chopped and Refrigerator or freezer pickles can be made into relish. Fresh-eating prepared without heat processing. “slicing” varieties and ‘‘burpless’’ cucumbers can be used in relishes or Cucumbers and other vegetables are for quick process bread-and-butter packed in a strong vinegar and sugar pickles, but are not suitable for fer - solution for storage in the refrigerator mented pickles or fresh pack dill or freezer. pickles. HOMEMADE PICKLES & RELISHES 3 Wax-coated cucumbers bought from supermarkets are not suitable for Start with the pickling because of varietal qualities, right ingredients and because the pickling solution Select fresh, firm, cannot penetrate the wax coating. high quality veg - For best quality, pickle fruits or veg - etables and fruits etables within 24 hours of harvest, or for pickling. Varieties recommended refrigerate for no more than a few days. This is particularly important for for Wisconsin can be found in these cucumbers because they deteriorate publications, available from your rapidly, and if stored for too long will county UW-Extension office or not make a quality product. Cooperative Extension Publications at Just before pickling, sort fruits and the address on the back cover: vegetables for uniform size accord - Apple Cultivars for Wisconsin A2105 ing to recipe directions. Wash care - fully, especially around the stems. Growing Pumpkins and Other Vine Soil trapped near the stem can be a Crops in Wisconsin A3688 source of bacteria that can cause Harvesting Vegetables from the Home pickles to soften. Garden A2727 Discard floating or damaged cucum - Home Fruit Cultivars for Northern bers, and fruits or vegetables that are Wisconsin A2488 over-ripe or damaged. Home Fruit Cultivars for Southern Remove all blossoms, and cut a 1⁄16 - Wisconsin A2582 inch slice from the blossom end of Vegetable Cultivars and Planting Guide vegetables and discard. The blossoms for Wisconsin Gardens A1653 contain enzymes that can cause soft - ening and result in an unacceptable product. 4 Wisconsin Safe Food Preservation Series Water To prepare safe, Softened water is recommended for making pickles and relishes. Hard high quality water usually contains lime — pickles, use calcium hydroxide — that may: softened water, undiluted commercial I decrease acidity, resulting in an white or cider vinegar, canning and unsafe product, and pickling salt and whole spices. I contain iron, magnesium or Never use homemade vinegar in making sulfur compounds that can pickles, or vinegar that has been diluted, cause discoloration or off-flavors. unless specified in the recipe. Otherwise, If you use hard water, you can an unsafe product may result. remove some of these minerals: Firming agents such as calcium hydrox - I Boil the water for 15 minutes in a large kettle, then let the water ide (lime) and aluminum (alum) are not stand in the kettle for 24 hours. necessary for pickling and are no longer recommended. The use of lime in pickles I After 24 hours, pour off the water carefully, leaving sediment in the may result in an unsafe product.