Kosher Dill pickles recpie

It sounds like you've done enough experimenting with other recipes that I'm failing to understand why at this point you're not just developing your own recipe??

You should have pretty clear ideas of what you liked and didn't like from the other recipes, so make adjustments and be done with it!

Ahhh.  You made it sound like you've been testing recipes to this point.

Homemade pickles is on my list of things that I'll likely do at some point in the future, but I have not yet started any sort of recipe development.

Sorry I can't help.  Somebody here should be able to...

Start by looking at: http://www.google.com/search?q=kosher+dill+pickle+recipe&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a
 

If you want the undeniable, intangible satisfaction of making your own pickles from scratch, that's one thing.  If you're just looking to improve the pickle you're serving, I've had a lot of success with tweaking purchased dill spears.  You can add spices or fresh ingredients to the pickle container and in 24-48 hours noticeably affect the flavor.  Try adding fresh dill, arbol chiles, garlic, mustard seed, whatever flavors you're into.  Obviously start with a high quality pickle that has the color, crunch, seed pocket, etc you like.  Easy, duplicable, gives you a unique pickle.

This!

We get in the 5gal pails of Strubs Spears and then add a decent amount of spices and chili's to the pails, let them sit for a week and voila~   

Instant (almost) in house signature pickles.  (no you can't have the recipe  :)  )

Cool thing is you don't need to make the entire pail the same just divide them up and carefully keep records and ratios so you can reproduce them later.

We make a "fire-pickle" for our occasional flaming chicken and suicide burgers.

Also a triple garlic pickle for an eastern euro special and a mustard and soya version for an asian cold platter.

The combinations are endless.

Making pickles is easy, so I'll tell you how I do it and then you can experiment with different flavourings.

You need a large mason jar and another bottle or jar that just fits into the opening.

Go to your local farmer's market and buy small pickling cucumbers. Also get some dill, it can be young dill that you would use as a herb in cooking or old dill that's flowered or even bolted. Be liberal with it. Other flavourings are up to you, I use a bit of garlic (not too much) and some horseradish slices. Horseradish makes the pickles really crunchy, but imparts a flavour that you might not like, so be careful with that. I've also read that vine or cherry leaves have the same effect, so you can use part that and part horseradish. Other people in my area like to use chiles, onion, black pepper, coriander, and who knows what. You can experiment with different ratios and flavourings.

So for a 1,5 litre bottle I use two halved cloves of garlic, a small bunch of dill and four to six (eight is definitely too much) horseradish slices (about 1cm thick and 4-5cm in diameter). I put these at the bottom and then fill the jar with cucumbers. You have to cut each cucumber at its length, but only so much that you cut through the skin. This ensures that the gases can escape. All that remains to be done is to cover it all with brine, which is just dechlorinated water (you can boil it and then let it cool) and unrefined salt (3% salinity produces good results). Put the small jar filled with some water on top of it, so that it pushes the cucumbers down. They mustn't be in contact with air or else mold will develop. Just leave it for 4 to 6 days and you have your pickles. Then store in the fridge.

I haven't figured the ideal temperature yet, but room temperature or slightly higher is fine.

Get the Wild Fermentation book.

Funny timing, I nearly posted the same basic topic yesterday just to solicit ideas for varying the classic dill. What I am doing right now is experimenting by creating a hot brine and pouring it over the cucumbers and sealing the jar.. then it goes into the fridge. I figure that way after about 5 days I can taste them and get a general thought of the flavor direction.

I just did some serious garlic pickles.. I think I used about 10 medium sized cloves for these. The garlic is very strong. I also used yellow mustard seeds, black peppercorns, and some dried dill. I am thinking of trying out some of the classic pickling spice mixtures.. since I have a pantry full of indian spices I can do quite a bit of experimenting. I'll let you know if I find one that I really thing knocks it out of the ball park. I'm also planning to experiment with the types of vinegar. Here are my GAHHHLIC dill chips on day 3:

http://www.freshpreserving.com/recipes.aspx

This link is to Ball's site and will tell you everything you ever wanted to know about putting things in jars for later consumption.

My mom and untold millions of other housewives have been using these techniques since this company wrote and distributed their very first pamphlet.

You can find lots of info on the net as well as your local library.

Home canning is on the rise, I do it because I would rather save local produce (at it's prime) than purchase off season fruit and veg that has been imported from someplace where their handling of product may not be up to my standards.

Tons of mangos being recalled as we "speak".

mimi