Cucumbers

What should we do with all these cucumbers?  That is the million-dollar question for cucumbers and other veggies this time of year.  I actually did not grow cucumbers this year, but have been gifted with a bunch!  Some have been turned to pickles, but others have ended up in the compost bin, as they were ready to use at the time I acquired them, but I didn't have the time to process before they started to liquefy.

So, with these gifts, I tried my hand at pickling.  I am a lover of dill pickles - home made or not.  My mom sent to me a few pickle recipes, including a dill recipe from my Great Grandma Caldwell.  I'm sure I have eaten her pickles in the past and was pretty excited to recreate them.  The process seemed straight-forward and visual outcome was very nice!

The recipe said the pickles would be good to eat in two weeks and better as time progressed.  I was excited to open my first jar last Sunday, but disappointed to taste how salty they were.  Now, I don't mind salt and don't consider myself sensitive to it.  My husband and mother-in-law also tested and concluded the same thing.  The good news, though, was that my friend Deb said they went well with their bloody Marys!  I think I'll have to head out to Sol N Tyne and check them out!


However, since tasting them, I have been considering the recipe and how to adjust it.  The first part of the recipe was to soak the cucumbers in salt water.  At first  I thought that was the problem, but then realized that the extra pickles that I put in the 'fridge did not have the excessive salt flavor.  So, the issue must be the brine.  I think my next shot at this recipe will be to lessen the salt in the brine.