Polish Food Recipes - How to make homemade pickles?

Good pickles are hard to find, especially when you don't live close to ethnic neighborhoods with a proud tradition of preserving cucumbers. Thankfully, pickled cucumbers are very easy to make so after reading this you can forget about those awful store brands.

Your best bet for finding cucumbers is at a green market during the summer season. Make sure the cucumbers are fairly small, very firm and green. Presence of yellow or light green coloring indicates that the cucumber is too ripe. Other important ingredients you will most likely find at a market include dried dill and horseradish root (optional).

 Ingredients:

• cucumbers
• garlic
• dried dill
• horseradish root
• kosher, sea or pickling salt
• mustard seed (optional)

Presoak cucumbers in cold water for 20 - 40 minutes and wash to remove dirt and other undesirable particles. If necessary, drain the water and repeat. 

Place a handful of dry dill at the bottom of a large jar (you may also use large porcelain or clay containers) along with a few garlic cloves and some horseradish root. It helps to crush the garlic with a knife to release its flavors. To give your pickles additional spice, you may choose to add mustard seed. Continue to sporadically add dill, cloves of garlic and mustard seed as you fill the jar with cucumbers. 

 

 When it comes to pickles, dried dill works best. 

Alternatively, fresh dill may be used but there's a risk of it decomposing.

Once your jar is packed with cucumbers, your next task is to fill it with a mixture of warm water and salt. The water should be boiled but cooled down to warm temperature. Use about 1 table spoon of salt per 1 liter of water. Fill the jar with water and salt solution up to the rim, ensuring that cucumbers are completely submerged. Loosely cover the jar with a lid or plate and set aside in room temperature away from direct sunlight.After about 2 - 4 days your pickles should become tender, slightly salted and ready to eat. At this stage of fermentation process, the pickles are know as "malosolne" or slightly salted and considered by many at their best. If you like your pickles really tart, give them additional time (4 - 5 days). With each passing day your pickles will gain in tart. Eventually, you should store the jar in the refrigerator to slow down the fermentation process. Bon appetit!

 Pickled and ready to eat in a matter of days.

Useful tips: 

• Horseradish root is optional. It does add slightly to the flavor but its most important role is to keep your pickles firm. If you plan to eat your pickles within a few weeks of making them, you can skip on the horseradish.

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  When it comes to pickles, dried dill works best. Alternatively, fresh dill may be used but there's a risk of it decomposing.
  
  
  


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  Horseradish root is optional. It does add slightly to the flavor but its most important role is to keep your pickles firm. If you plan to eat your pickles within a few weeks of making them, you can skip on the horseradish.
  
  
  


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  The amount of dill and garlic you should use depends on the amount of pickles. Quite honestly, you can't go wrong with using too much dill or garlic.
  
  
  


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  When it comes to salt, use kosher, pickling salt or sea salt. The less refined the salt is and the more mineral it contains, the better.
  
  
  
  
  Read more: How to make homemade pickles? | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_4551298_make-homemade-pickles.html#ixzz0rtYnSf3H