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Old 11-02-2012, 05:36 PM   #57
T.G
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Default Re: Make your own pickles?

Vinegar brine & spices you can reuse a few times, I'll reuse until it clouds - about 3 runs, could probably go more cycles though. I add a splash of fresh vinegar and a bit more salt each time and make sure you bring to a boil to sterilize the brine before reuse.

For fermented pickles, so long as there isn't some undesirable bacteria in there, you would only need about a cup or two of the lactobacillus brine as a starter to prime the new batch. I once tried a 60%+ reuse, the bacteria I wanted ended up dying off too soon and the result tasted really "off". Wasn't harmful or anything, just tasted really funky.
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