Custom Search

Welcome To Homemade Pickle Recipes


See all our pickle recipes here.

Question: What's better than a pickle? Answer: A pickle you made yourself.

With our pickle recipes you can make better pickles than you can buy. When you make your own, you have the advantage of adjusting the flavors to your own taste. Our pickle recipes are specifically selected for the average home cook to be successful in making great pickles. The kind you will want to give to friends and family as gifts.

You will find pickle recipes, relish recipes, as well as other cucumber, fruit and vegetable pickling recipes here. Be sure to read our info on Pickling Techniques, tips and Problems. Our focus here is to provide you all the information you need for making all types of home made pickles, relishes, chutney and sauerkraut.

Featured Pickle Recipe
Hot Garlic Dill Pickles go to hot garlic dill pickle recipe

Our most popular recipe, it came from an old guy that sold pickles at a swap meet many years ago. We have made a few revisions over the years as a result of our site visitor comments, but basically they are still "the old guys" hot, garlic, dill pickles.



Pickle Recipe Basics
What is pickling? Canning? Preserving? In simple terms, it's the process of preserving food to prevent it from spoiling. For our purposes, by using salt, acid (usually vinegar) and/or temperature control.

Class of Pickles
Most of our pickle recipes are one of two classes of pickles, Brined (Fermented) or Fresh Pack (Quick).

Brined Pickles or Fermented Pickles
This is a curing process using a brine (salt and water) solution for an extended period, usually one or more weeks. When fermented, the process itself produces acid that preserves the pickles. Brined cucumbers are cured but not completely fermented, therefore some form of acid (usually vinegar) is added to aid preservation.

Fresh Pack or Quick Process
This is perhaps the easiest and most popular form of pickling. Cucumbers are covered with a boiling hot salt/vinegar solution, usually containing spices and seasonings. The sealed jars of pickles are them processed in a hot water bath and stored for a period of time to improve flavor.

Before You Start
Food safety is a concern, but it is not cause for you to shy away from making pickles. Before you start, be aware of the following:
1. Never alter the proportions of vinegar, food or water in a pickle recipe and use only trusted recipes.
2. Always select fresh vegetables and firm fruits that show no signs of mold or decay. Try to process within 24 hours after they have been picked. Pickling varieties of cucumbers will give better results but table cucumbers can be used. If you purchase cucumbers, do not use "waxed" cucumbers.
3. As you would expect, cleanliness is essential. All tools, jars and lids must be sterilized in a boiling water bath. Sealed jars of pickles should be processed in a boiling water bath. Time of processing varies by product, pickling procedure and altitude, but most of our pickle recipes use 10-20 minutes processing.
4. Discard any food that is soft, mushy or has a foul odor. Any spoiled food can make you sick (not just pickles) and in some cases, can be fatal. You should not have a problem if you follow proper canning practices. Read more...

All our pickle recipes have been tested, but your results will depend on your own cooking skills and ability to follow accepted food preserving procedures.

See all our pickle recipes here.





Custom Search




HOME
Pickle Recipes Index
Contact Us

RECIPES


New
Korean Kimchee (kimchi)
Spicy or mild, make to suit your taste.

go to kimchi recipe

Overnight Refigerator Dills
They probably should not be called pickles. Actually they are flavored fresh cucumbers that are ready overnight. The kids love 'em.

go to Refrigerator Dills recipe