PICKLES AND PICKLING Pickling Vegetables. — Almost every sort of esculent may be pre served for table use by means of spiced vinegar. The objects to be obtained are to secure firmness or hardness of texture, to impart a fine bright green or other color, to kill all germs of decay that may be present, and to protect from the air.
Firmness of texture is secured by steeping the vegetable in strong brine for a number of days, and by picking them over at intervals to discard all doubtful specimens. This may be done by lifting them from the brine, rinsing them and after they have been picked over, covering them with brine that is freshly made. The excess of brine may then be removed by fresh ening them in pure salt water for twenty-four hours or more.
A fine green is imparted by lining a kettle with fresh vine leaves and packing the pickles with these in al ternate layers. The addition of pow dered alum sprinkled among the lay ers assists in setting or fixing the color. They are then covered with cold water and boiled for two hours or more until the color is satisfac tory. Cooking, of course, softens them, but their freshness may be re stored by dropping them into iced water for an hour or two.
Finally, scalding hot pickling liq uid is poured over them both to kill the germs of decay and exclude the air. And this process may be re peated by pouring off the pickling liquid, bringing it to a boil and again pouring it over them at intervals of every two or three days for a fort night. The jars may then be sealed, or a layer of cotton batting tied over them to exclude the genus that float in the air, and thus they may be pre served for years.
To Select Cucumbers for Pickling. —Plant for pickles a variety of cu cumbers that bears a large number of small cucurabers, only 2 or 3 inches long when ripe. These are small, compact, and make firm, crisp pickles that are preferred by most persons to the large cucumber pickles, which, when ripe, are 5 to 7 inches long, 2 to 3 inches thick, and full of seeds.
Or use the small, unripe specimens of the large varieties. Cut the cu cumbers from the vines carefully. Leave part of the stem on. And take care to handle them gently. If bruised they will become soft and de cay. Pick the vines clean each morn ing of all that are of a suitable size. This keeps the vines bearing. Pick them over carefully. Throw out any that are bruised or spotted in any way. And, if an Al quality of pickles is desired, either for home use or for sale, sort them into lots of uniform size and shape.
To Preserve Cucumbers for Pickles. —Have ready two or more stout wooden tubs or earthenware jars, and in these each morning as fast as they are gathered pack the pickles in lay ers. First put on the bottom of the vessel a layer of salt inch thick, then a layer of cucumbers. Over them put a layer of salt about inch thick. When about 30 cucumbers have been packed in this way, add a large cupful of water. This will dis solve the salt and make brine enough to cover the cucumbers. Put a stout board, with a stone on top, over the cucumbers to press them down in the brine. Continue to add more cucum bers from time to time as they are ready, picking them if possible in the morning before the dew is off. Add salt and water until the keg is full. Weigh down the cucumbers securely under the brine and until ready to do them up store the keg in a cold cel lar. Look at them now and then to be sure that they are kept under the brine, and add more brine, if neces sary, to replace the water lost by evaporation. Let stand in brine ten days t,o tvvo weeks, or until they be come yellow. But they will not be in jured if allowed to stand longer, pro vided the brine covers them.
Or after standing in cold brine for one week, lift them carefully from the brine with the hands, so as not to bruise them. Place the brine over the fire and bring it to a boil. Immerse the cucumbers in the brine while boil ing hot.