Minnesota Extension Service INFO-U Script Copyright (c) 1994 Minnesota Extension Service, University of Minnesota. All rights reserved. _________________________________________________________________ SCRIPT NUMBER: 833 SCRIPT TITLE: Making Genuine Dill Pickles SUBJECT AREA: Food Preservation AUTHOR: University of wisconsin SPECIALIST REVIEWER: AGENT CONTACT: Shirley Barber LAST REVIEW DATE: August 1992 NEXT REVIEW DATE: August 1994 MAKING GENUINE DILL PICKLES The old-fashioned way of making dill pickles, fermenting cucumbers in a salt-brine, produces the type of dill pickle commercial picklers call a "genuine dill pickle." While you preserve most other kinds of pickles by using acetic acid present in vinegar, this type of dill pickle is preserved by lactic acid produced during a fermentation process that takes place over several weeks. Here's what happens. You place cucumbers in a glass or stoneware crock or heavy food-grade plastic container. Cover with a salt brine that contains dill, garlic, spices and a little vinegar. The cucumbers' weight keeps them below the surface of the brine. Cover the container loosely and allow it to stand at room temperature, preferably between 70 and 75 degrees F. Natural sugars from the cucumbers begin to go into the brine where salt-tolerant lactic acid bacteria cause natural fermentation. The amount of salt in the brine is very important if fermentation is to go well. Too little salt lets undesirable bacteria grow rapidly. Too much salt slows down the fermentation process. Yeast and molds can grow on the surface of the brine where air is present, so you need to skim off any surface scum each day. If you don't, the vegetables may soften, develop off-flavors and spoil. Place thoroughly washed cucumbers in a clean five gallon non-metallic, food grade plastic, crockery, or glass container and cover with the brine. Use a plate and a weight, or a waterfilled plastic bag to keep the cucumbers below the surface of the brine. After about three weeks, the cucumber flesh will become a translucent olive green. At this point, you can pack the pickles in clean jars. Cover with boiling hot brine that they were fermented in and process the jars for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath canner. This stops the fermentation and lets you store the pickles at room temperature without risk of spoilage. * * * * * _________________________________________________________________ This item is copyrighted. Users of this database may print one copy for their own use only, and may not produce or distribute multiple copies. Permission is granted to use this script in a broadcast for non-commercial purposes provided that the author and MES receive acknowledgement. Copyright permission inquiries should be sent in writing to Copyright Coordinator/EDS, 405 Coffey Hall, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108-6068, or e-mail to copyright@mes.umn.edu or fax to 612/625-2207.  .