Or some authorities recommend that the brine be poured off, heated, and again poured over the pickles each day for a week or more, or every two or three days. But the better opinion seems to be in favor of steep ing or immersing them in cold brine for a longer period to draw out the rank juices that occur in all crude, fruit rather than to pour scalding brine over them. Scalding is thought by many to be unnecessary, and to tend to make the pickles soft.
To Store Pickles.—Wooden tubs or casks are to be preferred for storing pickles in large quantities, or glass bottles or fruit jars for the finer qualities. There is an advantage in small bottles, crocks, or jars as only a small quantity need be opened at a time.
Porcelain, graniteware, aluminum, or new tinware are the most suitable vessels in which to heat the vinegar and the brine. Anything that has held grease will spoil pickles.
If packed in wide-mouthed glass bottles or fruit jars, seal tightly, or cork and cover the corks with melted paraffin or other bottle wax. But if the pickles are laid down in j ars or kegs they should be looked crier occa sionally, and if any of them are soft they should be removed, the vinegar turned out, scalded, and again poured over the pickles. There must be suffi cient vinegar to cover the pickles thoroughly, and it must be of at least medium strength. If the vinegar be comes weak, pour out and replace with fresh vinegar scalding hot. The addition qf a little sugar when the pickles are looked over helps to keep them and improves their flavor. By the blending of the flavors of the va rious ingredients, pickles, if properly laid down, should improve with age.
Store pickles in a cold place, as if they are kept too warm they may be attacked by the small fly so familiar in autumn.
Or to lay down pickles permanently in brine, cover them with boiling water and let stand until they are cold. Drain thoroughly. Put a layer of dry salt in the bottom of the bar rel, put down a layer of pickles, cover with dry salt, and so continue. Add no water. Put a weight above them and their juice will furnish the neces sary moisture to dissolve the salt and make sufficient brine to cover them. A small quantity can be freshened from time to time and freshly pickled as required for use. But this method of laying down pickles is not the one commonly preferred.
To Freshen Cucumbers. — After cucumbers have been steeped in brine until they are entirely yellow, and about three days before they are to be done up, lift them carefully from the brine into a clean vessel, cover them with clean cold water and let stand three or four days, changing the water each day or oftener to freshen them.
To Pickle Cuenmbers.—Pack the freshened cucumbers in wide-mouthed bottles or jars and pour over them either pure vinegar boiling hot or any desired pickle of spiced vinegar and seal.
Or first pour over them pure vine gar scalding hot and let stand in a warm place until they become green. Every two or three days pour off the vinegar, reheat it and again pour it over the cucumbers scalding hot; when the color is satisfactory pour off the pure vinegar and cover them with the spiced pickle if desired. But while the above is recommended as a thorough method designed to prepare a high-grade quality of pickles, rec ommendations of authorities differ very widely and good practice doubt less varies equally as much or more. One authority recommends merely washing cucumbers in salt and water, and immediately bottling and cover ing them with boiling hot pickle. Another, scalding fresh-picked cu cumbers with boiling brine, and when cold draining and at once covering them with boiling vinegar. Another would cover fresh-picked cucumbers at once with boiling vinegar contain ing a handful of salt, reheating the vinegar every two or three days until they become green, then pickling and sealing. Hence it may be inferred that preserving in brine before pic kling is not necesssary, but we prefer to recommend it for reasons already stated.
Authorities also differ as to whether the brine should be cold or heated, and the length of time the cucumbers should be immersed in brine, and also as to whether it is sufficient to cover the cucumbers with scalding vinegar and immediately seal, or preferable to let them stand, reheating the vine gar occasionally to green them. All of these questions must be decided by each person for himself according to the grade of pickles desired, and his willingness to take the necessary pains. In general, it is believed that the slower and more painstaking the process, the better will be the quality of the product.