I recently made 7 jars of pickles. I let them soak in the brine for 30 days before reviewing. They all shared the same base brine:
7 cups of distilled white vinegar
3 cups of water
8 tablespoons of kosher salt
4 tablespoons of cane sugar
Here are my reviews:
Batch #1 - I Added a lot of dried dill. I was too lazy to weigh or measure the amounts. This was delicious. The brine was perfect and the dill flavor got absorbed well.
Batch #2 - I added tons and tons of dried dill. This was just as delicious as the first batch, but the extra dill was wasted as it didn't have more dill flavor than the first batch.
Batch #3 - I added 2 Yellow Ghosts Peppers. This was by far the best batch. The pickles were hot, but not unbearable, with excellent lingering flavor and heat.
Batch #4 - I added 2 Yellow Ghost Peppers and 1 lime. This was just as hot as batch #3, but the burn was very delayed. The lime flavor was weird, as it was also bitter, with a "rindy" bitter flavor. It was a
fun experiment, but too weird.
Batch #5 - I added 3 Yellow Ghost Peppers. This was bearable, but too hot to enjoy as a snack. Also, the pain from the heat overwhelmed the salty briny flavor that I want in pickles.
Batch #6 - I added 3 Yellow Ghost Peppers and 1 lime. Same theme as batches #4 and #5: This was too hot after the delayed burn kicked in and the bitter lime taste detracted from the overall flavor.
Batch #7 - I added 6 Yellow Ghost Peppers. This was too hot, but still bearable—nowhere near twice as hot as the batches with 3 Yellow Ghost Peppers.
I don't pressure can, but have these in good sealed mason jars in the refrigerator.
This has been a ton of fun and fun to share as well. Many thanks to all of the folks who have given me advice here over the years, especially salsalady!
7 cups of distilled white vinegar
3 cups of water
8 tablespoons of kosher salt
4 tablespoons of cane sugar
Here are my reviews:
Batch #1 - I Added a lot of dried dill. I was too lazy to weigh or measure the amounts. This was delicious. The brine was perfect and the dill flavor got absorbed well.
Batch #2 - I added tons and tons of dried dill. This was just as delicious as the first batch, but the extra dill was wasted as it didn't have more dill flavor than the first batch.
Batch #3 - I added 2 Yellow Ghosts Peppers. This was by far the best batch. The pickles were hot, but not unbearable, with excellent lingering flavor and heat.
Batch #4 - I added 2 Yellow Ghost Peppers and 1 lime. This was just as hot as batch #3, but the burn was very delayed. The lime flavor was weird, as it was also bitter, with a "rindy" bitter flavor. It was a
fun experiment, but too weird.
Batch #5 - I added 3 Yellow Ghost Peppers. This was bearable, but too hot to enjoy as a snack. Also, the pain from the heat overwhelmed the salty briny flavor that I want in pickles.
Batch #6 - I added 3 Yellow Ghost Peppers and 1 lime. Same theme as batches #4 and #5: This was too hot after the delayed burn kicked in and the bitter lime taste detracted from the overall flavor.
Batch #7 - I added 6 Yellow Ghost Peppers. This was too hot, but still bearable—nowhere near twice as hot as the batches with 3 Yellow Ghost Peppers.
I don't pressure can, but have these in good sealed mason jars in the refrigerator.
This has been a ton of fun and fun to share as well. Many thanks to all of the folks who have given me advice here over the years, especially salsalady!