Why do I cut off the end of my pickles for canning ?

Why do I have to cut the end off my pickles?

Must I cut off both ends before canning cucumbers?

If I ferment do I need to cut off the end of my pickles? 

What end to I cut off my pickles for canning?

Great question with two answer's. When you are getting ready to make your pickles you have a few decisions to make when it comes to cutting off the tips/ends.

For instance if you are fermenting and making a deli type of pickles you would only remove the 1/16 inch off the blossom end. It will prevent your fermented pickles from becoming mushy pickles. .

Regular cucumber with ends cut

For a standard pickle slice like for bread and butter you need to remove the end's only because you never see jar's with the ends in, well I have not. When you are making spear's many people cut the end off and many leave it on.












 What ever you decide here are a few tips from my favorite spot's to find an answer's
National Center for Home Preservation

See the blossom on the end. BAD END!

Cutting off the tip of the cucumber that held the blossom is essential because it has enzymes in the bloom that will make your pickles soft and possibly unsafe to eat. Keep in mind they are talking about the end with the blossom that is one end and to tell which end this is look at your cucumber. If you grow your own you will see the end of the cucumber has the blossom on it this is the end you cut. Not the stem that the cucumber hangs from.









 
In a market you can tell by simply looking at the cucumber there are two ends. The end that has a smooth spot is not where the blossom was. The end that has the rough end is where the blossom was. So you need to cut a 1/16 of an inch off the blossom end of your cucumber. Here is a link to the section of my blog that has all the pickle recipes I have made with success. Please feel free to email me with any questions to canarella@sbcglobal.net

Disclaimer: This is not an all inclusive recipe for making jam. You should have a basic knowledge and understanding of the canning process before proceeding. Please consult your local Center for Home Preservation for additional information and available classes. 

Preserving Fermented Pickles

Yup it is official I am the new Fermentation Station. It has been four week since we put the cuck's into the brine and let them sit and get acquainted.

The process was so much better then the last batch. As you remember the first batch turned to mush green slim. They were disgusting.

Here is the  original post with the recipe for starting

Here are a few reasons mine may have gone to mush
I put warm brine on
Did not wash cucumber's well and left on some buds and stems
It happens sometimes there is no rhyme or reason

Lookin Good!

Alright so Saturday I took one of the pickles out and it was so salty it put pure salt to shame.

What to do? What to do!








 After a bit of research I found that all I needed to do was pour off half my brine and add enough fresh distilled water to again cover the pickles. (I call them pickles now because they have transformed kind of like pickle puberty)

Let them sit over night and the salt leaves the pickles. Magic it worked. Do not let your pickles sit for more than a day or two because you have reduced the amount of salt which keeps them fermenting. Get them in a water bath or refrigerate them.



I am going to keep some of them whole and some cut into slices. I will put them all in quart jars. Wide mouth makes it easier to grab and go. Plus I will add a garlic clove to each jar and some fresh dill.
Here is the link for the pickle brine . On that post there are two way to make the brine one from the Ball Blue Book and one I tweaked. Get creative when you get more comfortable.







Here I also got this information of a site called Canning Pantry

"Fully fermented pickles may be stored for about 4 to 6 months in the refrigerator.

Canning fully fermented pickles is a better way to store them. To can them, pour the brine into a pan, heat slowly to a boil, and simmer 5 minutes. Filter brine through paper coffee filters to reduce cloudiness, if desired."

Fill jars with pickles and hot brine, leaving 1/2-inch head space. Adjust lids and process 

I was extremely happy with the way they turned out and Pa says that they are such a great on taste that his palate dances prior to eating ?

What has he gone all European on me!

Here is a link to the original recipe for fermenting your pickles. Also a link to fermenting Cabbage for sauerkraut.

Fermenting the cucumber's Week 3

 Looking good. Scrape the scum...Sounds like a reality show

 A little floater wanted me to cut it and taste.
Glad I did they should be called salty cucks, Phew I think I just gained 10 pounds water retention. There is a fix for that but I will go over that in my next post on this subject.

But it was crunchy and crisp .
Yeah! The salty I am going to go search about.

How to Ferment Cucumbers

This is why I love my Food Saver. I forgot to buy the dill for this experiment but I had fresh dill frozen and garlic yippee for me!

 Ok first off Lactic-Fermented that is a scary  term.  But breath in Faith breath out Fear my little ones!

I went to the Farmers Markets to search for cucks. Not just any cucumbers but the light ones that are medium and firm. Now I know a lot of people call out certain ones like Kirby but let us all face facts we can not always get what we need so we have to get what we can. Oh my a joke "Get what we Can" get it! Alrighty moving on.

 So you all know I have my Lil Crock. I made great sauerkraut in it this year and now I am going to do Sour Pickles. The thing about the things I do is the amount of fear that comes with it. But this to shall pass. I got through the Pressure Canning and the Sauerkraut and this is just one more adventure in yumminess!

 I had to wait to do this because most of the sites I explored said to use Grape Leaves to keep them crunchy during the fermentation process. I did find another site that said you can use Oak leaves. My friend has grapes a plenty and it is worth the wait.(The leaves supply the tannins which keep the pickles crisp)

Here are two of the sites I cruised through to get some ideas. Cookography and Hard Work Homestead I go to so many and do so much studying prior to my projects.



Also here are my two go to fermentation books. I find that they are good but I am the type that I can never get enough info. Then I put it all together for my own best of bookernet recipe.

One book is Preserving Food without Freezing or Canning by Chelsea Green and Making Sauerkraut and pickled vegetables at home by Klaus Kaufmann and Annelies Schoneck.



All your ingredients’ are to taste. Also it depends on the size container you use. I have a Fermentation Pot, 10 Liter you can grab one on Amazon it cost $89.00 worth the cost for what you can do with it.

INGREDIENTS

About 4 pounds pickling cucumbers
4 to 6 dill heads or large sprigs
8-12  whole garlic cloves
1 tablespoon of dill seed
1 Tablespoon whole mustard seed
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1 tablespoon of pickling /sea salt to each quart of water

First layer of grape leaves

A few fresh leaves from a grape vine, or oak tree, if available.This is my first layer.






PREP :

Rinse cucumbers, removing blossom ends. It is believed that it can harbor bad bacteria increasing the risks that your batch will not ferment properly. It is also thought that it can make your pickles not as crisp. Be gentle I rub the blossom off and wipe my pickles I do not scrub them because they have good bacteria.

Boil your water adding the salt until dissolved. * You must make sure you boil the water tap water is chlorinated. Or you can buy bottled spring water. Boiling is cheaper. Do this first so the water has cooled off by the time you are ready to pack your crock. DO NOT pack with warm water it must be cool.

First layer of cucks and spices

Done

In layers place grape leaves first. Pack cucumbers into crock garlic, dill, and seasonings continue layering till the container is about 2 inches from the top.






Pour brine (salty water) over the cucumbers. Make sure the brine covers the ingredients’ by at least an 3 inch's.
Place weight/clean plate on top to keep pickles submerged below brine line (you may need to weight the plate with a water-filled jar or brick). My crock came with weight's.





Check crock at least once a week, skimming off any debris, rinse weight if you find anything on the surface.
Taste cucumber after one week to see if they are seasoned to your liking.
Leave until you get your desired taste .




When done, well we have not gotten there yet. This will be another as we go part one is this post and I will post as we get going. Once they are done I am planning to water bath them. So this will take yet another study hall. But I will go search our sites and find the safe and yummy way to do it.Here are the links to the posts for fermenting pickles

Week Two Fermenting Pickles
Canning/Water-bath your fermented pickles

*** Spices and things you can add for taste
Horseradish
Red Pepper Flakes or Fresh Peppers
Onion
Fennel
Coriander