Pickles using leftover commercial pickle 'juice'

[rotuts]

Ive been using a lot of ba-tampte pickles in the heat and have at least a full jar's worth of the pickling juice.

kirby cucumbers are on sale this week: if I wash a few, +/- slice these in 1/2 length wise, and leave in the PJuice in the refrig will they remind me of pickles?

worth trying?

[LaurieB]

Did this work?

[rotuts]

have not done this yet. tomorrow or the next day for the Kirbies. than some time in the refrig.

was hoping someone here has already done this.

Edited July 1, 2013 by rotuts (log)

[rlibkind]

You're better off making your own pickles afresh. All it takes is two pounds of kirbies, sliced lengthwise in halves or quarters. Dissolve 1/3 cup Diamond Crystal kosher salt (1/4 c if its Morton's kosher salt) in cup of boiling water. Then throw in a handful or so of ice cubes to cool. Add kirbies, 3-8 crushed cloves of garlic, some fresh dill or some coriander seeds, add enough more cold water to cover, then keep it all submerged with plate smaller than bowl's diameter and a weight -- perhaps a glass jar filled with your old pickle juice! Place in cool space (not fridge) and taste after 12 hours. Depending how "done" you like them they might be ready or need another 6-36 hours. Just keep tasting! When ready repackage to clean glass container with your homemade brine and refrigerate. They'll keep fermenting, but more slowly. Will last two weeks or so ... But they're likely to be consumed long before then.

[rotuts]

thanks. its about time I tried this. i has hoping to reproduce the ba-tempte half-sour taste:

would the 1/2 part imply that these pickles are only 1/2 pickled? they are dark green and have a good krunch.

[rlibkind]

You can get the same crunch simply by refrigerating as soon as they're "half sour", i.e., to your taste.they should stay crunchy for a week in the fridge, maybe longer. That's Ba-Tampte's "secret" too.

[Porthos]

I am still curious if anyone has used existing pickle juice successfully. If not for the kind rotuts is talking about how about dill?

[Lisa Shock]

I have a friend who does this. Thankfully, he keeps his experiments in the fridge. The water from the fresh vegetables will water down the solution making it more susceptible to becoming a growth medium for bacteria, etc. I wouldn't do it more than once, and I'd discard after 5 days.

[rotuts]

so the issue seems to be salinity.

with that in mind, taking an average Rx:

http://fakeitfrugal.blogspot.com/2011/08/fake-new-york-deli-style-half-sour.html

if this is a good one, and cutting down on the salt to consume less salt is not a good idea?

many thanks!

[Lisa Shock]

Acidity is also an issue. Acid foods are hostile environments for foodborne illness, that's why they types of pickles that used to be stored in barrels could be stored in barrels for long periods of time. Watering down the liquid raises the pH and stops killing things.

[HungryC]

I'd probably bring the old pickle juice to a boil before reusing to make a quick pickle. Will help to kill off anything introduced into the brine by fingers, unclean utensils, etc. As previous posters mentioned, use immediately or keep refrigerated for just a very few days.

[rotuts]

interesting project: Ill microwave the juice and add some vinegar!

[AAQuesada]

I use left over pickle juice (esp if it is spicy) to make Curtido pickled cabbage condiment/sauce from El Salvador. Traditionally a topping on pupusa's, but great on all sorts of stuff

[Ashen]

I am still curious if anyone has used existing pickle juice successfully. If not for the kind rotuts is talking about how about dill?

I don't use the fermented style pickle liquid but I often reuse vinegar based dill pickle liquid for pickled eggs. I top up with extra vinegar and water if needed and add some sliced onions.

Edited July 4, 2013 by Ashen (log)