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                       PICKLING & RELISH POINTERS

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Serving Size  : 1    Preparation Time :0:00
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 Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
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         ---           --------PICKLES AND
                       RELISHES-------------------

 Pickles, relishes, and chutneys are vegetables
 prepared with brine (salt and water) or vinegar and
 some sugar and spices. The vinegar acts as a
 preservative, keeping any spoilage organisms from
 growing. Sealing pickled foods in jars and processing
 in a boiling water bath helps keep them fresh, crisp,
 and free from mold.

 Whole, sliced, or chunked vegetables cooked in vinegar
 or a vinegar sugar syrup, can become pickles. Chopped
 or ground combinations cooked with vinegar, sugar, and
 spices become relishes. Chutneys are highly spiced
 fruit and/or vegetable combinations.

 The old fashioned dill pickles and sauerkraut are
 actually fermented in brine, rather than cooked in
 vinegar. The brine, plus the sugar from the cucumber
 or cabbage, promote a special kind of bacterial action
 that, over several days or weeks, changes cucumbers to
 pickles and transforms cabbage to kraut.

 PICKLING POINTERS Because certain ingredients are very
 important for proper pickling, you'll need to be aware
 of some of the following pointers.

 1. Use produce that is as fresh as possible. Take it
 from the garden to your kitchen and into jars just as
 rapidly as possible. If you can't process the produce
 immediately, be sure to keep it refrigerated.
 Vegetables should be just barely ripe; they'll keep
 their shape better than if they were fully ripe.
 Always select cucumber varieties that have been
 created for pickling. The large salad cucumbers were
 developed for salads, not for pickles. Use smaller,
 less pretty cukes, with pale skins, plenty o bumps,
 and black spines. Never use waxed cucumbers. Select
 evenly shaped and sized vegetables for even cooking
 and better looking pickles.

 2. Water is an important pickle ingredient, especially
 for long brined pickles. Soft water is best. Hard
 water can cloud the brine or discolor the pickles. If
 you don't have soft water, boil hard water for 15
 minutes, then let it stand overnight. Skim off the
 scum, then carefully dip out what you need so you
 won't get any sediment from the bottom. Then add 1
 tablespoon of salt for each gallon; or you cn use
 distilled water if your water is hard.

 3. Salt, too, makes a difference. Table salt contains
 special additives to prevent it from caking in your
 shaker, and these materials can cloud brine. Iodized
 salt can darken brine. use only pure, granulated salt,
 also known as kosher salt, pickling salt, or dairy
 salt. Most supermarkets stock it with canning supplies.

 4. Vinegar is a crucial ingredient for many pickle
 recipes. check the label when you shop, and be sure to
 get a good quality vinegar of from 4 to 6 percent
 acidity. (Sometimes listed as 40 to 60 grain.) Weaker
 vinegar will not pickles foods. use distilled white
 vinegar for light colored pickles, cider vinegar for
 darker foods or more interesting flavor.

 5. Sugar can be brown or white granulated, depending
 on the lightness or darkness of food to be pickled.
 Or, if you wish, use half corn syrup or honey and half
 sugar. Don't use sugar substitutes unless you follow
 their manufacturers' directions.

 6. spices must be fresh. Old spices will make your
 pickles taste musty. Most recipes call for whole
 spices, which give stronger flavor and don't color the
 pickles as much. It is suggested you tie the spices in
 a cheesecloth bag and add them to the kettle during
 cooking, then remove the bag before packing the
 pickles into jars. Some cooks like to leave whole
 spices in the jars for stronger flavor and just for
 appearance's sake, but loose spices may darken the
 pickles somewhat.

 7. Alum, lime, and other ingredients added to crisp or
 color pickles are not necessary, and their use is not
 recommended. These ingredients are often found in old
 fashioned recipes. Most of the newer recipes won't
 need any of these additives.

 Source: Vegetable Gardening Encyclopedia Typos by
 Dorothy Flatman 1995



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