Pickles Part I

Every year we grow both regular and pickling cucumbers.  We've had amazingly good luck and amazingly bad luck growing this seemingly no-brainer of a plant.  This year happens to be a pretty good year (so far).  Cucumber Beetles have taken out our crop more times than not.  As of today, so far so good and only a hand full of beetles (another blog for another day)

We have historically made bread~n~butter pickles and canned them (we will also cover this topic another time).  This year we are experimenting with dill pickles without using the canning process.  We will refrigerate and eat quickly instead. 

As of blog time, we are midway thru the pickling process and will catch you up with how they are coming tomorrow night.  We tasted and they are actually good.

You will need:
1/3 Kosher salt
2 lbs pickling cucumbers quartered longwise (same size if possible, washed and cleaned)
5 cloves smashed garlic (the fresher the better.  check the local farmers market if don't have your own yet)
Large bunch of fresh dill (we had to purchase - ours is not ready to pick yet)

Combine the salt and boiling water in a large bowl; stir to dissolve the salt.  Add a handful of ice cubes to cool down the mixture.  Then add all of the remaining ingredients.

Add cold water to cover.  Use a plate slightly smaller than the diameter of the bowl and a small weight to keep cucumbers under the water.  Keep at room temperature.

Begin sampling the cucumbers after 4 hours. 

According to Bittman (our food guru), it will take from 12 to 24 or even 48 hours for them to taste "pickle-y".  When they are ready, refrigerate still in brine.  The pickles will continue to ferment as they sit.  They will keep well for up to a week and we'll blog tomorrow night with an update.