 Welcome to Pickling Basics presented by Alice Moore, regional extension agent with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System. Pickling is one of the oldest known methods of food preservation. There are four kinds of pickle foods. Fermented pickles are your traditional old-fashioned pickles made by soaking in a brine which is a salt and water solution that can take up to six weeks. The pickles go through a process called fermentation. When the salt encourages the growth of good bacteria on the food to produce lactic acid, examples include dill pickles and sauerkraut. Fresh pack or quick processed pickles are not fermented but covered with hot vinegar, spices and seasonings to increase their acidity. They can also be brined for several hours or overnight, then drained and covered with vinegar and seasonings. Examples include fresh packed dill pickles, bread and butter pickles and pickled asparagus. Relishes are made from chopped fruits or vegetables cooked to a desired consistency in a spiced vinegar solution. Relishes are the perfect complement to a special dish. Examples include pear relish, sweet apple relish and pickled corn relish. Fruit pickles are whole or sliced fruits simmered in a spicy sweet sour syrup. Examples include spiced crab apples, watermelon rind pickles and spiced peaches. When selecting your produce, you should use only good quality fruit and vegetable varieties designed for canning and pickling. Select tender vegetables and firm ripe fruits. Pear and peaches may be slightly under ripe for pickling. A pickling type cucumber makes a better pickle. Such varieties include model, chipper, explorer, carolina, ashley, poinsett and gherkin. Wax coated cucumbers bought from the grocery store are not suitable for pickling. Select cucumbers of uniform size that are best suited for the recipe you are using. Select smaller produce if you plan to put up whole. Larger produce can be cut into chips or wedges. Use cucumbers within 24 hours after gathering. If they are kept refrigerated longer than 24 hours before the pickling process begins, you will not have as good a quality product. Always remove 116 off the blossom end of the cucumber and discard. It contains enzymes that soften the cucumber. If whole cucumbers are to be brined, leave one fourth inch of the stem. Harvest cucumbers before they get too large for the best quality product. When selecting ingredients, you want to purchase pickling salt, fine green sea salt or pink Himalayan salt, then with other salts at the grocery store and they may be found in the canning section. You can also purchase pure granulated salt without added iodine or a non-caking agent. Iodine can cause the pickles to darken and the non-caking material may prevent fermentation during the brining process and it turns the brine cloudy. Refined table salt should not be used for brining cucumbers and never use an ice cream salt or rock salt for pickles. When you're choosing your vinegar, you want to make sure it has a five to six percent acidity. Recommended vinegar is apple cider or white distilled vinegar, but keep in mind that the apple cider vinegar can again cause your product to turn a brownish color. Best choice vinegar is white distilled vinegar. Just keep in mind it must be a five to six percent acidity. There are some vinegars that are more diluted and they're not safe to use. You do not want to use a wine vinegar, a homemade vinegar or a lemon juice. Fresh spices ground or whole are the best to use for pickles. Tie whole spices in a thin cloth bag but removed before pickles and relishes are packed. Whole spices if left in the jar tend to darken the pickles and can also cause off flavor. Ground spices tend to darken the pickles, so store your spices in a cool place about 70 degrees Fahrenheit in an airtight container. If you need to substitute a spice a good rule of thumb is one fourth teaspoon of dried is equal to three fourths to one teaspoon fresh. For dill ahead is equal to one teaspoon of dill seed. Most recipes use white granulated sugar. However some may use brown but brown sugars again turn your product darker. If you plan to use a sugar substitute follow recipes developed for these products. Your sugar substitutes are not recommended in pickling because heat and our storage may cause bitterness and the sugar substitutes do not plump the pickles and keep them firm the way sugar does. Now let's talk about farming agents. The reason for soft pickles may be as simple as not removing the blossom end of the cucumber. Slice off at least one sixteenth of an inch on the end where the blossom was. The use of ice to firm pickle products is a great way to get a crunchy pickle. Soak product in ice water for four to five hours before pickling. Alum may be used safely to firm firm into pickles but it's not necessary. Some people can be sensitive to the alum which causes digestive issues. Alum does not improve the firmness of quick processed pickles. It's the calcium in lime that improves pickle firmness. Food grade lime may be used as a lime water solution for soaking fresh cucumbers before pickling them. However it takes several rinses of the cucumbers in fresh water to remove the excess lime absorbed by the cucumbers. There's a new product called pickle crisp that can be used to keep the cucumbers firm. Just remember that you must start with a firm product to keep a firm product. You cannot pickle a soft cucumber and make it crisp. Do not use hard water from the tap. Hard water is the amount of dissolved calcium and magnesium in the water and it can be removed by boiling. Hard water you can boil hard water in a stainless steel or unchipped enamel boiler for 15 minutes and remove it from the heat. Cover and let sit for 24 hours. Remove any scum that may be formed on the top of the water. Slowly pour water from the container so sediment is not disturbed. Discard the sediment. Water is now ready to use. For heating pickling liquids use unchipped enamelware, stainless steel or glass pots. Do not use copper, brass, iron or galvanized utensils. These metals may react with acids or salts and cause undesirable flavor and odors or they may even form toxic compounds in the pickle mixture. Use a wooden or stainless steel spoon for storing pickles. Other equipment needed in pickling includes water bath canner, standard canning jars, canning lids, bands, funnel, a ladle, magnetic wand, bubble freer, jar lifter and a timer. When selecting equipment for brining or fermenting glass and food grade plastic containers are excellent substitutes for stone crocs. Stone crocs are great for large quantities but some are so heavy they're hard to work with. Other food grade containers may be used if lined with a clean food grade plastic bag. Do not use garbage bags or trash liners. To keep vegetables below the surface of the brine use a heavy plate that fits just inside the container. A sealed glass jar filled with water makes a good way to hold down the plate. A more recent method is to use a sealed plastic food grade bag containing one and a half tablespoons of salt per one quart of water. The bag covers the container keeping the contents at a correct level so the plate is not needed. Using the brine prevents solution in case the bag leaks. Cover the fermentation container with a clean cloth to reduce mole growth on the brine surface. Cabbage and cucumbers must be kept one to two inches under the brine while fermenting. A word of caution. The level of acidity in a pickle product is as important to its safety as it is to taste and texture. Do not alter vinegar, the produce or water proportions in a recipe or use a vinegar with unknown acidity. Use only approved and tested recipes from the US Department of Agriculture, Extension or the National Center for Home Food Preservation websites. For safety there must be a minimum uniform level of acidity throughout the mixed product to prevent the growth of clostridium botulinum spores. If product is not processed correctly spores can produce a poisonous toxin that can be deadly. Never taste food from a jar with an unsealed lid or food that shows signs of spoilage. When in doubt, throw it out. Now let's talk about the processing steps in a boiling water bath canner. One, wash jars in hot soapy water and rinse well. Keep them hot until ready for use by storing in a canner filled with hot water. A hot dishwasher or an oven on the lowest setting. Jars processed for less than 10 minutes should be sterilized first by boiling them for 10 minutes in clean water. Follow the manufacturer's directions for preparing lids. Two, prepare ingredients and follow the instructions of an approved recipe. Three, pack food and liquid to within a half inch from the top of the jar unless otherwise specified. If the jars are too full some contents could siphon out of the jar during heat processing. Stick to the rim and prevent sealing. All air may not be exhausted during processing if the space between the packed food and liquid and the top of the jar which is called the head space is too large. Four, run a bubble freer, a small spatula or a plastic knife around the inside of the jar to remove air bubbles. You may need to adjust head space again. Five, wipe the jar rims with a clean damp paper towel to remove any bits of food that may prevent a seal. Six, adjust lids and screw bands fingertip tight. Seven, place jars on the rack by transferring them up and over into the canner using a jar lifter. Add more hot water if needed around the jars but not directly on top of the lids to bring the water level one to two inches above the jar lids. Place a tight fitting cover on the canner. Processing step number eight, turn heat to the highest setting and wait for water to come to a rolling boil. When the water boils, set a timer for the specified time as directed in the recipe. Increase processing times for higher altitudes as needed. Add boiling water if necessary to keep the jars covered. Nine, at the end of the processing time turn off the heat and remove the canner lid away from your face. Do not leave jars in hot water. Remove jars using a jar lifter, being careful not to tilt the jars. Ten, put the jars on a heavy cloth or towel allowing air to move freely around each jar as it cools away from a drafter fan. Eleven, let the jars sit undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours. Do not remove water from the lid and do not tighten the screw bands or press down on the center of the flat lid until the jar is completely cool. Twelve, the jar is sealed within 12 to 24 hours if the lid has popped down in the center and does not move farther down when you press it. Listen for the popping sound. If you hear that popping sound the jar has not been sealed properly. Jars that are not sealed can be refrigerated or reprocessed. To reprocess you need to remove the lid, reheat the brine to boiling, wipe the rim of the jar, use a new lid and process again for the full time. However, the quality of the pickles will not be as good after reprocessing. Thirteen, remove screw bands for storage to keep the moisture under the lid from resting the bands. Wipe the jars clean. Fourteen, label each jar with your product and date. Store in a cool dark and dry place. Store jars of pickles for four to five weeks to develop their best flavor used within one year for best eating quality and nutrition. Exposure to heat, freezing or light decreases the quality and the shelf life of processed foods. You can find the food safety agent in your county by going to www.aces.edu and clicking on directory at the top of the page. Select your county and click on meet the staff located at the bottom left. You can also stay connected with the Alabama Extension Food Safety Team on Facebook by searching at Aces Food Safety.