OK, Mushy pickles. . .

[3sapphires]

In the interest in helping others, as others have helped me. . .

I put up (and posted about) a batch of cuke pickles, a la WF a few weeks ago, and they were good, but "half sour". (I was not patient, lol. They cured 3 days)

Yesterday, I used some of that brine (like a tbs per jar) to put up some more. - same recipe otherwise.

They are "full sour" (YUM!) but mushy. And only 24 hours later.

No whey anywhere near my cukes, btw.

Possible differences?

1)Using the past brine to innoculate the jars

2) Big cukes, not little pickling cukes (though both were sliced the long way) - these were so big I decided to seed them. They were fresh from the field like an hour before processing, though. And organic. The first, smaller ones were only local, only chemical when needed- not organic.

3) it was a bit warmer here today - but not more than 5 degrees. . . AC was off, but there has been a nice breeze.

I'm going with the size as the reason. Just a gut feeling based on the texture.

HTH someone!

Oh, and don't cry over my loss, lol. we will still eat them - every last yummy one, lol.

[Taedareth]

Hmmm my pickled cucumbers always turn out mushy. And they get mushier the longer they stay in the refrigerator. I hope someone else replies

[tinuviel_k]

I put grape leaves in my brine and it really helps with the mushiness. I got the idea from Wild Fermentation and it really helps. My pickles this year are not mushy at all, and they fermented at pretty warm temps for about 1 1/2 weeks.

If you want to try grape leaves but can't find any in your area you might try posting on freecycle or craigslist. I've found that some folks have grapes growing on their property and are willing to share.

[Metasequoia]

I think I mentioned this in one of the pickles thread - about not liking SF's pickle recipe - particularly the whey because they turn out mushy (of course, everyone said, "*my* NT pickles don't tun out mushy!" ) I'm not even sure that you followed the pickle recipe from NT...

Ahyhoo, I didn't use whey - I used (per quart jar):

1 flower head of dill
About 2" of dill stem, chopped
About 5 half inch pieces of horseradish root, small, like a piece of cole slaw
About 5 mustard seeds
2 average sized cloves of garlic or one huge one, chopped into about 4 pieces
2 leaves from a wild cherry tree (this keeps them crunchy!)
Stuff the jar with cukes, either sliced length wise or in rounds

I boiled water with salt & filled the jars, oe at a time, quickly putting the lids on & inverting them - afte they cool (2-3 hours) I flipped them back over & they were sealed.

To ensure the crunchiness, I've read that cherry tree leaves work, as well as grape leaves or oak leaves. I think it's the tannins.