Interactive lesson

Pickles in vinegar, step by step

Interactive lesson: a 3 : 2 brine, crisp cucumbers, pickled peppers and chillies, mixed pickles and beetroot, the water bath and pasteurisation.

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The whole lesson as text

1. The brine

The brine is the liquid that covers the vegetables. Both safety and taste depend on it.

Ratio 3 : 2 — The basic brine is 3 parts 5 % vinegar to 2 parts water, or 1 part 9 % vinegar to 2 parts water. Never weaker.
Vinegar with its strength — The label must say "5 % acidity" or more. Some cheap table vinegars are only 4 %, and homemade fruit vinegar is often 2–5 %: neither is for preserving, unless the strength has been measured.
Converting 9–10 % — For each 100 mL of 5 % vinegar you can use 55 mL of 9–10 % vinegar plus 45 mL of extra water. The total acid stays the same.
Salt, sugar, spices — Non-iodised salt and whole spices, so the brine stays clear. If it is too sharp, add sugar and don't cut the vinegar.

Why: Vinegar brings the acidity of the vegetables below the line at which botulism bacteria can grow. That is why vinegar is never skimped: only with a strong enough brine can the jar go in the larder.

Vinegar essence (25 % and more) is a strong acid: only diluted exactly as labelled, locked away and out of children's reach.
Very hard water clouds the brine, and water with a lot of iron darkens the vegetables. Then use boiled and settled water or bottled water.

2. Vegetables and crispness

Crispness comes from fresh vegetables and iced water, not from chemicals.

Picked this morning — Into the jar the day it is picked, the next day at the latest. Gherkins 4–8 cm (1½–3 in), firm, no yellowing and of even size.
Cut off the blossom end — Cut 1–2 mm off the blossom end of the cucumber. The stalk end you can leave.
Iced water — Soak cucumbers and peppers 2–4 hours in cold water with ice before filling.
A leaf for tannin — Put 1–2 sour cherry, grape vine, oak or horseradish leaves in the jar.

Why: A cucumber that has lain in the sun for two days stays hollow and soft in the jar whatever the recipe. The blossom end holds enzymes that soften the cucumber.

Calcium chloride (Pickle Crisp and similar firming agents) is allowed, as the packet says. Alum is no longer recommended.
Don't use aspirin or salicylic acid in preserves: they are not kitchen preservatives and can be harmful, especially to children.