Newborn cucumber

[pepper]

I love those state fair pickles too!
I’ve never tried making them huge.
I harvest mine at a fairly small size and put them in ice water overnight.
That seems to help with crispness.
I’d love to try making the big ones but the few times I’ve missed one or two cucumbers growing hidden on the vine they always are yellowish and seem to lose flavor.

I've never tried the ice water, I'll do that. I want to try making the big ones again this year, just a dozen. I will try the ice water on them too.

You are lucky you have tried those state fair pickles. I'm stuck here in Canada day dreaming about them while I watch YouTube videos showing the food you folks have lol! No big pickles here that I've seen.. beaver tails and poutine is what I find at the fairs here lol. Good stuff though.

 

[Ruderunner]

I've done the occasional giant pickle. 1 barely fitting in a quart jar.I tend to prefer those as refrigerator pickle vs quick. I don't do them on purpose, they just manage to hide until they get giant.

Calcium chloride helps keep processed pickles firm. And yes, ice water with the calcium is most effective. DOES NOT APPLY to fermented pickles, yuck.

Ball sells calcium chloride as Pickle Crisp. In some areas it can be bought in bulk as ice melter, but probably not food safe.

 

[Eeilee]

I've never tried the ice water, I'll do that. I want to try making the big ones again this year, just a dozen. I will try the ice water on them too.

You are lucky you have tried those state fair pickles. I'm stuck here in Canada day dreaming about them while I watch YouTube videos showing the food you folks have lol! No big pickles here that I've seen.. beaver tails and poutine is what I find at the fairs here lol. Good stuff though.

Never had either of those lol
But I’ve heard poutine is delicious!

 

[Eeilee]

I've done the occasional giant pickle. 1 barely fitting in a quart jar.I tend to prefer those as refrigerator pickle vs quick. I don't do them on purpose, they just manage to hide until they get giant.

Calcium chloride helps keep processed pickles firm. And yes, ice water with the calcium is most effective. DOES NOT APPLY to fermented pickles, yuck.

Ball sells calcium chloride as Pickle Crisp. In some areas it can be bought in bulk as ice melter, but probably not food safe.

I’ve always just made fridge pickles as they never last longer than a couple of months around here anyway hehe
I’d like to try pressure canning someday but I’m nervous about it.

 

[Ruderunner]

What part worries you? Also depending on recipe a hot water bath is all that's needed for pickles.

 

[Chuck]

I’ve always just made fridge pickles as they never last longer than a couple of months around here anyway hehe
I’d like to try pressure canning someday but I’m nervous about it.

Pressure canning is easy with the canners of today. They aren't bombs waiting to go off. The hardest part is forgetting to watch the clock and overcooking the product.

 

[Eeilee]

Pressure canning is easy with the canners of today. They aren't bombs waiting to go off. The hardest part is forgetting to watch the clock and overcooking the product.

True. I guess I just keep thinking of my grandmas system and it seemed threatening haha
I grow all my own ingredients for homemade pasta red sauce and really would like it to have a shelf life instead of just storing it in the fridge for a week.
My bigger worry really is that I’ll do something wrong in the process and make someone sick.
I’ll just go for it and stop being a worry wort

 

[Chuck]

True. I guess I just keep thinking of my grandmas system and it seemed threatening haha
I grow all my own ingredients for homemade pasta red sauce and really would like it to have a shelf life instead of just storing it in the fridge for a week.
My bigger worry really is that I’ll do something wrong in the process and make someone sick.
I’ll just go for it and stop being a worry wort

I have 2 large pressure canners. They hold either 16 or 18 pint jars depending on whether they are the round jars or the square jars. One is a Mirro and the other is a Presto. IMO they are both equal in canning abilities but the Mirro is MUCH easier to use. It has a 3 position weight that you put on the steam exhaust vent of 5, 10 and 15 lbs of pressure. Much simpler to use than the Presto or other canners that have a pressure gauge which your regulate by raising or lowering the heat of your cookstove. You can either actually pressure cook stuff, pressure can stuff or use the thing as a water bath canner for pickles and such.

 

[Eeilee]

I’m checking out the mirro.
I’ll start with the easier one.
The husband wants pickled eggs this year as well as the usual things I pickle.
Think I’ll start with the eggs first.

 

[Chuck]

I’m checking out the mirro.
I’ll start with the easier one.
The husband wants pickled eggs this year as well as the usual things I pickle.
Think I’ll start with the eggs first.

Be brave! You can do pickled eggs in anything that has a lid. Can those giant dill pickles. The thing about canning these days is the cost of lids and rings. If you are short of money like me you must search online. I bought 92 regular lids for $4.99. Normally 12 regular lids are about $4.00. Wide mouth even higher. You can almost buy jars, lids and rings for the cost of what lids cost.

 

[Eeilee]

That’s a great deal you found on the lids.
I ask family and friends for the jars back when they’re finished so I have a lot of jars but always use new lids .
I’m excited to try canning now!
I’ve made freezer jam with my grandparents - once I’m comfortable with the mirro I’d like to do shelf jam as well!

 

[Chuck]

That’s a great deal you found on the lids.
I ask family and friends for the jars back when they’re finished so I have a lot of jars but always use new lids .
I’m excited to try canning now!
I’ve made freezer jam with my grandparents - once I’m comfortable with the mirro I’d like to do shelf jam as well!

Just wait until you do corn and green beans and asparagus and tomatoes and potatoes and dry beans and peaches and you get the picture..............................

 

[Ruderunner]

I strongly recommend getting a copy of the Ball canning book. Lots of recipes and instructions for successful canning.

And Chuck is correct, modern canners are pretty foolproof

Tomatoes generally have enough acidity that they can be done by hot water bath. They're also a great starter for pressure canning as it's very difficult to overcook pasta sauce.

Green beans and corn are good learning experiences too.

pickles can be tricky as it's easy to cook them to mush,, rely on salt and acid for preserving and just hot water to vacuum seal.

Chuck, you can change the 1 pieces weight on your Presto for the multi piece part. I have 2 Presto units one came with gauge and 1 piece weight. I found a replacement multi piece to swap on . The hardest part was figuring out what model canner to look for for the multi piece.

 

[Chuck]

I strongly recommend getting a copy of the Ball canning book. Lots of recipes and instructions for successful canning.

And Chuck is correct, modern canners are pretty foolproof

Tomatoes generally have enough acidity that they can be done by hot water bath. They're also a great starter for pressure canning as it's very difficult to overcook pasta sauce.

Green beans and corn are good learning experiences too.

pickles can be tricky as it's easy to cook them to mush,, rely on salt and acid for preserving and just hot water to vacuum seal.

Chuck, you can change the 1 pieces weight on your Presto for the multi piece part. I have 2 Presto units one came with gauge and 1 piece weight. I found a replacement multi piece to swap on . The hardest part was figuring out what model canner to look for for the multi piece.

Do you go to Presto for the multi piece or is it an after market device?

 

[Ruderunner]

I found a website that sells all sorts of parts for canners. It's a factory Presto part used on some models of their canners. The trick was searching through the different models to find one with the adjustable weight. If you know the model number you can go straight to it.

Can't recall the site but it was easy to find by looking for "canner parts"

Per the gauge pressures are as advertised, 5 10 15

Note, I can't say if this works on other brands.