This one has been in the archives for a while. Back in August, a good friend emailed me and asked if I would be interested in taking a pickling class with her at Brooklyn Kitchen. Having been interesting in learning to making pickles and canning, I told her “definitely!” The class was taught by one of the founders of McClure’s Pickles – Bob McClure. He explained to us that different vegetables take different amounts of time in the pickling process. We were doing the basic pickle – cucumbers. But, we spiced it up a bit by using dill, garlic and red pepper flakes.
Bob explained that the best pickling cucumbers are kirbies or smaller cucumbers that are more tender and don’t have such a thick outer skin.
The equipment.
He then started measuring out the ingredients needed. It’s important to note that non-reactive pots are the way to go, along with making sure that if you’re going to use garlic in your pickling, it’s a good idea to boil them in the brine solution so that they don’t turn blue in the jar. It’s also important to make sure everything has been sanitized. The jars and lids have to be dipped in the boiling water you’ll be using for canning for about 90 seconds to ensure this.
We all lined up to start our canning process!
Jill’s cucumbers all nicely placed!
Mine look pretty good as well.
All the jars are now filled with brine and are reading for the pot!
Mine and Jill’s pickles are canning away!
The finished product! We waited about 4 or 5 days to break them open and try them.
Dr. Awesome was really enjoying them. The fruits of my labor. They were dilly, garlicky and very spicy.
Jill and I definitely agreed that this class helped take away our pickling fears that we would kill someone by accident. She’s been more proactive than I have in her picking and canning ventures and has had much success! I now need to take the plunge and start my preserving adventures. I’m very excited to start doing it. She sent me a website that has tons of information about any pickling/canning needs: http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/. Definitely worth checking out since there are a ton of recipes! Dr. Awesome’s mom also makes some mean jams.
I hope everyone out there had a great Thanksgiving! We had a hertiage turkey this year and it was the best turkey I’ve ever eaten. That post will be coming soon (and I promise not a month and a half later).
I YUM New York 