So, due to some serious health problems, I can't eat salt or sugar. Obviously, that sucks, but I'll live. I really miss pickles, though.

I don't know why I never thought to make my own, but I want to give it a spin this weekend. I'd like to get some made by tomorrow night so I can try them out by the end of the weekend. I'm looking around and it looks pretty simple and straightforward - fill jar with sliced cucumbers and add spices like dill, peppercorns, allspide, mustard seed, garlic, and a bay leaf, fill to brim with vinegar.

Just wondering if anyone here makes their own and has a knockout recipe. Thanks!

I can all the summer long ,most books ,county extension recipes call for salt.
I leave that out,never a problem ,been canning for five decades ,cabinets full of old canned products,still good

I made pickles out of some of the abundance of peppers we are getting this year. I used the traditional vinegar+salt+sugar medium with some commercial "pickling spice" tossed in the jar. I don't think the salt and sugar were absolutely necessary, but the heating the vinegar to dissolve them appeared to make a big difference in how long it took to cure the pickles. Next time, I will eliminate the sugar, and add the spices to the boiling vinegar before immersing the peppers in the jar.

I never was a big pickle guy but I make a great simple sandwich mix with red onions, jalapeno's from my garden (well - one plant in a container) and some bell peppers but mostly red onions.
Half apple vinegar, half water a few pepper corns, light boil and pour over the veggies, cap it and let it set for a few days then you are good to go.
Great on sandwiches.

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Originally posted by 45 Cal:
I can all the summer long ,most books ,county extension recipes call for salt.
I leave that out,never a problem ,been canning for five decades ,cabinets full of old canned products,still good

Thank you, sir! Good to know I don't need it.

quote:

Originally posted by architect:
[...]the heating the vinegar to dissolve them appeared to make a big difference in how long it took to cure the pickles. Next time, I will eliminate the sugar, and add the spices to the boiling vinegar before immersing the peppers in the jar.

Thanks, I'll integrate that into my method.


Smschulz, pickled red onions sounds good also. I think I'll see what I can find at the local farmer's market.

Not my area of expertise by any stretch of the imagination, but it is my understanding that it's not possible to pickle without salt. ICBW.

45 Cal says it is, and that’s good enough for me. Besides, I’m not pickling to preserve for all time, I’m keeping them in the refrigerator.

quote:

ICBW

What’s the Illinois Craft Beer Week got to do with it?

I like you, man, but every post of yours has some acronym I gotta look up.

quote:

Originally posted by P220 Smudge:

quote:

ICBW

What’s the Illinois Craft Beer Week got to do with it?

I like you, man, but every post of yours has some acronym I gotta look up.

Sorry. I thought I Could Be Wrong was pretty much known to anybody and everybody who'd spent much time on-line. Like "FAQ," "IM[NS]HO,"OTOH," "TEOTWAWKI," "LMAO," etc.

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
Not my area of expertise by any stretch of the imagination, but it is my understanding that it's not possible to pickle without salt. ICBW.

Traditional pickling, via fermentation without any added acid, requires salt. Otherwise you end up with rotten sludge.

In traditional fermentation pickling, the salt keeps the nasty rot bacteria from growing quickly, giving the lactic acid bacteria time to really get going. The lactic acid bacteria turn the carbohydrates in the food being fermented into lactic acid, and once it's pretty acidic and the carbs are gone, nothing nasty can grow in the fermented food.

The lactic acid incidentally makes the fermented food taste sour.

Home fermentation of fruits/vegetables is very safe. In contrast to home canning, the USDA has literally not recorded a single confirmed case of food poisoning from home fermented fruits/vegetables, ever, in the history of the department.

Modern "pickling" doesn't involve any bacteria activity, it is just soaking stuff in vinegar and doesn't necessarily make the food safe from spoilage.

The salt is there partially because salt tastes good and partially to make it taste more like traditionally pickled (fermented) food - although it doesn't actually taste very similar because lactic acid tastes different from vinegar and there is also other stuff going on in the fermented food.

Soaking something in vinegar to make it taste sour in no way requires salt, although the product of the process will need to be kept in the fridge or canned (possibly pressure canned, depending on what it is).

I too have been on a low sodium diet for the last 20 years.

I make snap pickles fairly often. Just wash the cucumbers and dill thoroughly and store them in a 50/50 blend of cider vinegar and distilled water plus the spices. Keep them refrigerated. I make them in smaller batches and eat within 3-4 days. They pick up the flavor after the first hour or so but are great after sitting in the fridge overnight

Well, I made two quart jar’s worth tonight. Just fresh dill (lots of it) and garlic. Half distilled water and half vinegar. We’ll see how it turned out tomorrow. Meant to add peppercorns, and completely forgot. Maybe tomorrow.

Good post OP, good answers! Thanks

I’m not sure you can really call something a pickle without salt.

It’s going to be more like a vinegar-marinated vegetable than a actual pickle.

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
It’s going to be more like a vinegar-marinated vegetable than a actual pickle.

I’m fine with that. I can’t eat salt, so I’m not going to let the semantics get in the way of my enjoyment.

So, after twelve hours or so, they’re pretty damn good! I had one and enjoyed it, just to see where they were at. I think I’ll leave them be until tomorrow night and then try again.