Pickles without brine?
September 19, 2013 3:36 PM Subscribe
I have a bunch of pickles just hanging out with no brine. Just pickled cucumbers, right now sitting in a bowl loose. I have a big jar I can put them in, but...what liquid should I put in there with them? Do I need any liquid, or will they keep without? If I do need liquid, what kind? There are a *lot* of pickles. I have water, a variety of vinegars, and about a cup of brine that's in another pickle jar that I could maybe repurpose.
Response by poster: It is indeed confusing. They are cucumber pickles, but were removed from their brine by the original owner, who found the appearance of the brine through the glass jar "unappetizing" (farmer's market pickles, murky "infused" brine). Now what we have are naked pickles, and I would like to keep them in the fridge for as long as possible.
posted by stellaluna at 4:46 PM on September 19, 2013
posted by stellaluna at 4:46 PM on September 19, 2013
Best answer: I have made my own fermented pickles before. (Here is the best reference. Trust this guy.) Based on my experience, I would say yes, you do need to store them in some liquid, or they will dry up and/or get yucky mold on them. If I were in your shoes and trying to improvise a brine, this is what I would use:
1. Water. Preferably not treated tap water. If that is all you have, let the water sit out for several hours to outgas as much of the chlorine as possible. Don't make a special trip though, to get special water. Use tap water if that is what you have.
2. Salt. See the ratios in the above article. For the "big jar" you described that I am imagining, I would go no more than one or two tablespoons, if that. If you have non-iodized salt that would be best (Sea Salt, Kosher Salt, etc) but I wouldn't make an extra trip to get any.
3. You can add vinegar if you want-- a cup or a half cup. It isn't totally necessary. You could also add some crazy stuff like crushed garlic cloves, or oak leaves (tannins in the leaves make the pickles stay crispy).
Whatever you do, the brine is likely to slowly leach the flavor of the pickles away over time, unless you go to the effort to make a fermenting medium (as described by author Sandor Katz, above), which is honestly probably not worth the effort.
But at least these will preserve them for you for a while. I hope knowing some of the science behind the brine process will help you, and good luck with all of your pickles!
posted by seasparrow at 4:54 PM on September 19, 2013 [3 favorites]
1. Water. Preferably not treated tap water. If that is all you have, let the water sit out for several hours to outgas as much of the chlorine as possible. Don't make a special trip though, to get special water. Use tap water if that is what you have.
2. Salt. See the ratios in the above article. For the "big jar" you described that I am imagining, I would go no more than one or two tablespoons, if that. If you have non-iodized salt that would be best (Sea Salt, Kosher Salt, etc) but I wouldn't make an extra trip to get any.
3. You can add vinegar if you want-- a cup or a half cup. It isn't totally necessary. You could also add some crazy stuff like crushed garlic cloves, or oak leaves (tannins in the leaves make the pickles stay crispy).
Whatever you do, the brine is likely to slowly leach the flavor of the pickles away over time, unless you go to the effort to make a fermenting medium (as described by author Sandor Katz, above), which is honestly probably not worth the effort.
But at least these will preserve them for you for a while. I hope knowing some of the science behind the brine process will help you, and good luck with all of your pickles!
posted by seasparrow at 4:54 PM on September 19, 2013 [3 favorites]
OFFS, that's dumb. They just get better in the brine!
I'd suggest making a refrigerator pickle with them. It's pretty easy, and they keep for a good long time in the fridge. If you wanted them to be shelf stable you'll have to go get some specialist canning equipment. (Which is fun, don't get me wrong, but you need to be a lot more careful about your levels of acid and such)
Fridge pickles just need vinegar, salt, water, and spices. Since your pickles are pickled, I'd try and keep close to the same flavor profile. But in the future it's fun to experiment. I've got some really good green beans pickled in soy sauce and rice vinegar!
If your pickles are supposed to be like a dill pickle, this is a good basic recipe. (I'd skip the part about leaving them out on the counter) And here's one for bread & butter pickles.
posted by Caravantea at 5:23 PM on September 19, 2013
I'd suggest making a refrigerator pickle with them. It's pretty easy, and they keep for a good long time in the fridge. If you wanted them to be shelf stable you'll have to go get some specialist canning equipment. (Which is fun, don't get me wrong, but you need to be a lot more careful about your levels of acid and such)
Fridge pickles just need vinegar, salt, water, and spices. Since your pickles are pickled, I'd try and keep close to the same flavor profile. But in the future it's fun to experiment. I've got some really good green beans pickled in soy sauce and rice vinegar!
If your pickles are supposed to be like a dill pickle, this is a good basic recipe. (I'd skip the part about leaving them out on the counter) And here's one for bread & butter pickles.
posted by Caravantea at 5:23 PM on September 19, 2013
Best answer: Fwiw, avoid keeping them in plain tap water. I once did that with pickles and all the flavor leached out over the course of about 24 hours. I just ended up weirdly-textured and kind-of-discolored cucumbers.
posted by whitewall at 7:13 PM on September 19, 2013
posted by whitewall at 7:13 PM on September 19, 2013
Response by poster: OFFS, that's dumb. They just get better in the brine!
I know!!! The brine's the second-best part! Sigh. I went with distilled water, sea salt, and some vinegar. Thank you all for saving my pickles!
posted by stellaluna at 8:02 PM on September 19, 2013
I know!!! The brine's the second-best part! Sigh. I went with distilled water, sea salt, and some vinegar. Thank you all for saving my pickles!
posted by stellaluna at 8:02 PM on September 19, 2013
Purée some of the pickles and store the rest submerged in the purée in a zip lock bag with all the air squeezed out. Pickles are at equilibrium with their brine. Pickles are solid brine.
posted by Infernarl at 12:31 AM on September 20, 2013
posted by Infernarl at 12:31 AM on September 20, 2013
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posted by Caravantea at 4:33 PM on September 19, 2013