A pickle for your thoughts
Some discoveries/questions from my first real batch of pickles:
* Cucumbers make a terrific garnish for your martini.
* Nothing like getting pickled while pickling (note: I recommend a martini after slicing your cucumbers)
* What’s the difference between a pickling cucumber and a regular cucumber? That sounds like the start of a joke. I’ll have to come up with a punch line. But seriously, one thing I noticed about these dills was the outer skin felt a little tough. I’m wondering if that’s because I actually did not using pickling cucumbers *gasp.* I decided to go with an organic variety I found in the shop that looked a bit healthier and a little more pickle-y. What can I say, I’m a sucker for good design. They taste great and are crunchy (thanks to a soak in ice water for about an hour before being enveloped in brine.) Determined on the next batch to use an actual pickling variety, and go bold and use the hot water canning method and start storing them under the bed, or some other such cool, dry place. (I heard about this storage “method” from a friend and think it’s a strangely terrific idea. It’d be a nice surprise for the housekeeper, too, if I had one.)
* I need to work on labels that won’t get soggy. But a big thanks to this charming fellow for designing and printing the first dozen.
Some more images from the pickling process:
