What is this elusive dill pickle recipe?

July 17, 2007 1:38 PM

What is this elusive dill pickle recipe?

I made a ton of really fabulous dill pickles last fall with a recipe I found online, but I forgot to save the recipe. Now I can't for the life of me find it. I vividly remember the ingredients and process. Does anybody know this recipe?

I packed jars with cucumbers, fresh dill, a clove of garlic, and several black peppercorns, then poured a room temperature (not boiling) vinegar/salt/water solution (of forgotten proportions) over the top. Then I sterilized the jars for 15 minutes in a boiling water bath.

All of the recipes I've found involve boiling the vinegar solution. Is it even safe to make pickles with room temperature vinegar solution?

posted by rabinowitz to food & drink (4 comments total)

It's probably not the same one - the salt is added before, not with, the vinegar - but the recipe posted here doesn't involve boiling.
posted by waterlily at 2:10 PM on July 17, 2007

I think boiling the vinegar solution may be just to dissolve the salt and to start the bath process at a higher temperature.

The boiling water bath will kill any germs that a boiling vinegar solution could.

You can find many recipes that call for sterilizing the jars, boiling the solution, AND using a water bath. This may be an overkill adaptation of recipes that didn't use the final step. The bath makes the first 2 steps unnecessary.
posted by MonkeySaltedNuts at 2:17 PM on July 17, 2007

I found a recipe in this book that uses a cold vinegar solution, peppercorns, 1 onion, grape tomatoes, garlic and sprigs of fresh garlic. It's on page 27 and called 'Garden Refrigerator Pickles' but darn if I can find a recipe online. Email me if you want the specifics.
posted by moonshine at 6:28 PM on July 19, 2007

That sounds like a great recipe, but I'm looking to preserve the pickles in jars, not just keep them in the fridge. Thanks, though.
posted by rabinowitz at 9:33 AM on July 20, 2007