Michigan
State University Extension
Preserving
Food Safely - 01600559
10/13/97
Fresh-pack pickles--such as fresh-pack dill pickles,
crosscut pickles slices (bread-and-butter pickles), sweet
gherkins, or cauliflower pickles--are quick and easy to
prepare. Some recipes call for soaking vegetables for a few
hours or overnight in brine (salt water). After soaking,
they are drained, packed into clean, hot jars, and
covered with boiling-hot pickling solution. The jars are
then closed with two-piece canning lids and processed in a
boiling-water bath.
The pickling solution must contain plenty of vinegar.
Some old recipes call for too little vinegar to insure
safety. Never decrease the vinegar in a pickling recipe.
Avoid packing vegetables too tightly into jars. Plenty of
room must be left for the boiling-hot pickling solution
to circulate around pickles during processing. Spoilage is
a problem when pickles are wedged tightly into jars.