How are Pickles made?

Question

I'm curious as to how I would go about making various pickled products myself such as the widely known cucumber pickles and also pickled hard-boiled eggs . . .

Answer 1

Pickling, or corning, is the process of preparing a food by soaking and storing it in a brine containing salt and/or acid (usually vinegar), a process which can preserve perishable foods for months. The resulting food is called a pickle.

Pickling in brine often results in anaerobic fermentation, by either lactic acid bacteria or by yeast.

If the food contains sufficient moisture, a pickling brine may be produced simply by adding dry salt. Some pickling forms, including sauerkraut and Korean kimchi, salt the vegetables to draw out excess water, then allow natural fermentation to create a vinegar-like solution containing lactic acid. Other pickles are made by placing the vegetable in vinegar. Unlike the canning process, pickling which includes fermentation requires that the food not be completely sterile before it is sealed. The acidity or salinity of the solution, the temperature of fermentation, and the exclusion of oxygen determine which microorganisms dominate, and determine the flavor of the end product.

When the salt concentration and the temperature is low, Leuconostoc mesenteroides dominates, producing a mix of acids, alcohol, and aroma compounds. When the temperatures are higher, Lactobacillus plantarum dominates, which produces primarily lactic acid. Many pickles start with Leuconostoc, and change to Lactobacillus with higher acidity.

Pickling began as a way to preserve food for out-of-season use and for long journeys, especially by sea. Salt pork and salt beef were common staples for sailors before the days of steam engines. Although the process was originally used to preserve foods, pickling is frequently done because people enjoy the resulting flavor.

Fruits are sometimes pickled in high-sugar solutions or with flavorings such as cinnamon, mustard, or dill seed.

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This is a great site to try.
http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/can6b_pickle.html

Answer 2

From what I can tell, pickles are cucumbers put in an air tight jar with vinegar and salt. They are aged over a certain length of time. Try going to www.foodnetwork.com and looking up how to pickle, or pickling. They should be able to give you some ideas and recipes. Good luck and God Bless!

Answer 3

Pickled anything is made with a brine of vinegar and spices depending upon the taste you want. As for pickled eggs I buy jars of beets and onions and eat that and save the juice to which I add peeled hard boiled eggs and in several days you have great pickled eggs with the color of purple Easter eggs and they taste great.

Answer 4

you put them in a jar ..then you fill the jar with pickling vinegar which is not to sharp ..then you close the seal cap or lid down tight so no air enters or escapes from the jar..4/ 5 weeks should do it ..
Eggs must not be damaged when pickling otherwise they will break up and same with the onions don't pickle them if there are damaged

I do a lot of pickles ..onions ,,peppers ,,chillies ..gherkin's
..cabbage ..carrots ..cauliflower ..rabbit meat..octopus ..
many many more other things ..good luck

Answer 5

vinegar is the most common pickling liquid, u can add ur own flavours of course like spices ie aniseed, herbs ie tarragon, chilli etc.... most flavours work well
Have a go, experiment with flavours u wont know unless u try...

Answer 6

A combination of vinegar, salts and spices and sugars, particularly dill leaves with cucumbers.

Answer 7

I save my pickle juice and put boiled eggs in the jar. They are good.

Answer 8

I asked this same question last night. How weird.

Answer 9

Here is a website I found:

http://www.pickyourown.org/makingpickles.htm

Hope this helps. :)

Answer 10

bettycrocker.com has a bunch of recipes. try that.