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CSFFan

After seeing the price of imported pickles and tasting the locally made ones here I decided to make my own. Did it back in the states, with real Mason jars, pickling spices and salt but as none of that shit his here, I figure this was the best way..to make simple refrigerator pickles.

The beauty of these is they are ready to eat in a day or two. Wash the cucu's, get the brine boiling and stuff the cuc's in the jar, pour the brine and you're finished. I let the jars cool a bit and them pop them in the frig and in a day or two can enjoy them. The down side is they really only last about a month or so as the little devils start getting too much brine and thus ain't as crunchy.

Not only great for sandwiches and snacks, they're a really nice addition to tuna and potato salad.

I start with fresh marjaram and powder, sage, coriander powder, fresh pepper corns and table salt. Would give you the measureements, but since it depends on taste, they wouldn't really matter.



Now, if you have never made pickles before...get apple cider vinegar. Yep, I know its expensive but always give a more fuller taste in my opinion.

Some recipes call for a 50/50 mixture of water and vinegar. Personally, I do mine at about 80% vinegar. I pour the vinegar into the big jar about 3/4 of the way up and then fill the rest up with water. This is usually enough for both the big and little jar.

Here's a pick of the brine....if it stinks up the entire house, you're on the right track. If you can smell it the next day, you know you're going to have some nice pickles.



The finished product.



Give it a try, you can't hardly mess them up.

Gerbil

I get the occasional hankering for a pickled onion, so I do those myself.

CSFFan

I do okra and string beans as well...haven't done any onions.

El Gibbon

A couple of notes/suggestions

You can use the Thai salt in the red packs, its pure sea salt and works great. Regular table salt is iodized/processed and will cause the pickles to go soft faster and will also add to the discoloring. (Pickling salt is non-iodized)

I use Thai vinegar, works great, has a higher acidity 5.5% vs 5% for western vinegars. This gives you a little extra bite. I also use the small cukes that you find here in Thailand as they seem to have less seeds and are generally better suited to the jars that are available.

One safety factor, when boiling vinegar it releases a toxic gas. Boil you solution only in a well ventilated area. Not life threatening but not nice.

I also let my solution cool to the warm level as it will not cook the cukes. This may require a longer curing time but the cukes will remain crisp longer.

E. G.

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CSFFan

You can get 6% also. Personally I prefer apple cider. I use the little cukes also as they pickle quicker because they have a thinner skin on them. Also they are the perfect "snack" size.

Thanks, will try the Thai salt next time.

Jet Gorgon

Where's the dill? Ya gotta have fresh dill. I always got my little cukes from the market -- gotta be perfect. Gotta boil and sterilise the jars (I used whatever I could get, like mayo jars). Thai vinegar was just fine. Sea salt, good. Then spices: some black peppercorns (Bt5 for a bag at the market), dill and mustard seeds (also available at the fresh market). I also added a few garlic cloves, cauliflower florettes, peeled shallots, and for Thai friends, chili peppers (nice colour, too). I stored in the bottom of the fridge for at least a week. Mine kept for ages.

El Gibbon

Here is a dandy recipe for "refrigerator" pickles, my mom used to keep these on hand at all times.

7 or 8 of the small local type cukes, sliced thin - around an 8th of an inch or so
1 C of green peppers (your choice actually) chopped coarse
1 C of onion, chopped coarse
1 TBlspn salt, sea salt preferred
1 C of vinegar
2 C of sugar
1 TBlspn of celery seed

Put the first four ingredients in a bowl full of ice, cover and let stand for one hour and drain.

Heat vinegar, sugar and celery seed to boiling, cool completely add cukes and other stuff. Store in refrigerator, best if allowed to stand for several days.

These are great for sandwiches, snacks, or any other place you would use pickles.

E. G.

Marmite the Dog

Can't Seppos spell cucumber?

CSFFan

^^ I would have thought if you sliced the cukes they would get soggy. They stay nice and crisp cut?

El Gibbon

Crisp but not crunchy. If you know "Bread and Butter Pickles" they are very similar.

E. G.

peterpan

I brine mine first, soak in a mix of non iodized salt and water for 24 hrs, rinse with ice water. then heat up to near boiling the vinegar and picking spice mix, cool to room temp and put in yer pickles and fresh herbs, dill, garlic etc.

jandajoy

How are you today Peter?

CSFFan

PP,
Good to see you posting! Hope you're well today!

And where do you get pickling spice?

Jet Gorgon

^ Never saw it in Thailand. Got mine in Singapore. But you can get the basics at the wet market:
black peppercorns
mustard seeds
dill seeds
Sorry, don't know the names in Thai. I'll check the contents of the spice pack when I go shopping today.

jaiyenyen

I've got some onions and eggs pickling at the moment. I did a mixture of hens and quails eggs. I used malt vinegar which I found in Tesco/Lotus, They also sell the storage jars with the rubber seal and wire clamp known as a "Kilner Jar" back in the UK.
Definately going to star some Cuc's a'pickling soon.

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El Gibbon

erm sad to bring you bad news but those jars absolutely SUCK. They are in no way air or liquid tight... bought a bunch and ended up throwing them away. You can get Mason jars here, but gotta look around. Bought two cases in Makham so am ok.

Did see them somewhere in bangers but forget where.

E. G.

CSFFan

I bought a couple in HomePro, of all places. Its what I've been currently using with, decent results, but the metal ring that the rubber seals against is showing serious signs of being subjected to brine. Will have to replace them very soon for pickle usage.

I also use Prego jars and such, but only use the tops once, as the rubber seal in the tops pretty much disintergrates after the second use.

If anyone can find Mason jars, tops and rings, I'd dearly like to know where!

jaiyenyen

I've just turned the jars upside down,and they seem to hold liquid, but one of the rubbers is showing some signs of perrishing. I suppose I should have known better. Mind you, it's not the first time I've bought cheap copies in Thailand, only to be disappointed shortly after, and it won't be the last

ChiangMai noon

thanks for this thread.

pickled eggs ready to be eaten.

Gerbil

^ Meant to do some pickled onions this evening, but went out on the piss instead. Expect incoherence for the rest of the night.