29
Oct
Making small batches like this allows you to eat them up while they re still a the peak of crispy goodness. Low salt pickles known as half sours in deli speak are made with a roughly 3 5 salt solution which is the salinity of seawater.
There isn t any vinegar used.
Half sour pickle brine. What is a half sour pickle. Pickles come in a wide variety of different styles and flavors. A half sour pickle is made through salt fermentation.
It gets its name from the stage of fermentation that it reaches. The exact same process can also produce new pickles and full sour pickles. The only difference between the three varieties is the time that you choose to take them out of the brine.
New pickles are generally produced after just a few days half sours after a week and a half and full. To make pickles by the traditional method a weak brine of about 6 is used and the cucumbers are allowed to fully ferment a process that takes 1 to 4 weeks. For half sour pickles a very weak brine of about half strength is used and the cucumbers are only allowed to partially ferment which makes them less sour as well as less salty as leaves them crunchy and very fresh tasting.
Half sour pickles are full on sweet sour salty goodess. They re pickled for a short time in a lower salt brine allowing them to retain a fresh crunchiness that some pickles lack. Making small batches like this allows you to eat them up while they re still a the peak of crispy goodness.
However they will keep for a long time submerged in their brine becoming softer and saltier with time. Half sour pickles are cucumbers that are pickled in a brine of water salt and seasonings. There isn t any vinegar used.
After some time in the brine the cucumbers become pickled and are half sour. They are bright green and crispy. As the pickles continue to brine they continue to ferment even more and eventually become sour pickles.
Good deli pickles are fantastic. However years ago when i had a real salt brined half sour pickle on a relish plate at a fantastic pile sandwiches super high delicatessen everything else became relegated to second place at best. Half sour is the way to go.
So 2 tablespoons of salt in 1 quart of water yields a 3 6 brine 3 tablespoons yields 5 4 and so on. Low salt pickles known as half sours in deli speak are made with a roughly 3 5 salt solution which is the salinity of seawater. My preferred brand of pickling salt is this one.
These pickles soak alongside delicious garlic fresh dill peppercorns coriander seeds mustard seeds and bay leaves. This recipe uses a half gallon mason jar. The ingredients and amount of water to salt ratio in this recipe is for this sized jar.
If your pickles are soft and not crunchy when done please check out ball pickle crisp. Wash cucumbers well and slice off the stem and blossom ends. Wash 2 wide mouth quart mason jars in hot soapy water.
Place 3 cloves garlic 1 2 sprigs of dill and 1 2 tbs pickling spice into each mason jar. Pack cucumbers into prepared jars pack them as tightly as you can. Place pickles garlic coriander peppercorn and dill in a large food safe container.
In a bowl dissolve salt in water. Pour salty water over the pickles and spices. Fill a quart or gallon sized freezer bag about half full of water.
New york s jewish pickle hawkers also popularized the half sour pickle which similarly relied on lacto fermentation but did not include dill. These pickles are only brined for a week or two so they re not fully fermented. This explains their bright green color ensures they stay crisp and results in a more subtle pickle flavor.