Make your own pickles?

[TheBeard]

Originally Posted by jkorp

Interesting. This was my first time doing this, so I just used the brine recipe I found online. This recipe called for a 4:1 of distilled water to distilled vinegar with 2 tbls of kosher salt for every quart brought to a boil. Do you think that's too diluted to ensure safety?

At this ratio they have a good level of vinegar tang, it seems that a stronger brine would be pretty potent.

I decided to pickle the bag of Jalapenos my coworker brought me. I just sliced the peppers and used brine and some whole garlic cloves. Can't wait to try these.

I've never really gone by a recipe. I looked at a few recipes to get a general guideline, then I just made it up as I went along.

I didn't mention it, but yes I do (when I remember) add salt to my pickled vegetables.

I don't know the biomechanics of the safety, but if they're recommending a 4:1 ratio then I'd say it should be pretty safe. You can ask those who attended the Lake Herf and tried my okra and asparagus; pure vinegar seems to work just fine.

Good eats Let me know how those jalapenos pickle up.