*** Sunday, 21 June was the last day of Spring Shearing 2025 for health reasons.  The temperatures and humidity are too high for continued safe shearing of any more than a few sheep.  I am working to contact owners and reschedule during more accommodating weather.

The next few posts will be of recent shearing days.  I'm hopeful that either the humidity or temps will ameliorate in a reasonable period of time. ***

Blog #24

Pickles from the washing machine?

So …, It’s the end of the Independence Day weekend!  Along with reflecting on 250 years of the United States armed forces and 249 years since the Declaration of Independence was signed, it’s time to make pickles at the Martin household.  One television channel says pickle making has been around for something like 4,000 years, my wife’s family has been making pickles since before we married, and some US pickle companies can trace their history back well over a hundred years, so it’s safe to say we weren’t the only one making pickles this weekend since this is the time of year when cucumbers are ready.

Dede and I made 6 quarts of hamburger dill chips, 6 quarts of jalapeno-dill spears, 12 pints of bread-n-butter pickles, and one pint of pickles that included our own jalapeno pepper and homegrown garlic this weekend.  I’ve still got at least one more batch of dill spears to go, and that should take care of us for the coming year.

Here’s a thought: cucumbers are pickled and kimchi is fermented, they are both ways to preserve vegetables, and they both share one other similarity: They are made from more than one vegetable.  Americans tend to think of pickles as being salty, vinegary cucumbers.  What about green beans? Beets? Watermelon rind?  Likewise, beyond cabbage, kimchi can be made from cucumbers, radishes or onions, and those are just the common varieties.  While I’m not a fan of cabbage kimchi, I can tear into a bowl of cucumber kimchi!  Think of pickles the same way.  Maybe you just haven’t found a variety you enjoy yet.

Yes, Dede and I like pickles.  I like dills, while she really goes for bread-n-butter.  The steps are very similar, and none of them have to be complicated.  Combinations of cucumbers, spices, vinegar, water, sugar, and maybe other vegetables are the basis for all cucumber pickles. 

Fortunately, pickle making is much like any other form of home canning:

1. Sterilize the jars

2. Clean and prep the fruit/vegetables

3. Make the brine/syrup

4. Pack the jars

5. Put the lids and rings in place

6. Process in the canner

7. Wait for 7 “Pings”

8. Once cool, remove the ring, gently wash

9. Label and date the lid

10. Store in a cool dry place

That may sound like a lot, but if you sterilize the jars at the outset, you can accomplish seps 2 and 3 while they are sterilizing.  Heat the canner water while you do steps 4 and 5 and then step 6 only takes about 15 minutes.  While this may take 4+ hours to complete, it’s food for the next twelve months.  And when you can after supper and into the evening, sometimes that final “PING” of the last jar happens just as you fall asleep, and that’s almost as sweet a sound as a baby sleeping after a long day.

  

  

If you don’t feel like canning lots and lots of pickles, try a batch of refrigerator pickles.  These make smaller quantities and are ready quickly, needing only a few days to meld the flavors.  There’s also less specialized equipment if you aren’t canning.

I know that some people really like pickles while others absolutely loathe them, and that’s great!  Dede and I like them, we like making flavors we enjoy year-round, and we also like knowing what’s in the foods we eat.  From the box at the produce market to the spices from the farmers market and the jars and supplies from the local hardware store, home-preserved foods can help tie you into the community and boost your outlook, knowing that so many different people are working independently but are also interconnected.

So how does the washing machine tie into this?  Count out the cucumbers you need and put them in the washer on the gentle cycle and for a short wash.  The easy tumble washes off the dirt and blossom residue and the spin gets them 95% dry, ready to slice or quarter or chunk as you desire for pickles.  It beats scrubbing each cucumber individually and while they are in the washer, you can lay out all the tools you need for the rest of the steps.  The added benefit is that your washer smells like cucumber water for a while, and you didn’t even have to go to a high-culture afternoon tea for the scent.

C-Ya!

 

*** No animals were harmed in the making of this post. Shearing is an important part of sheep farming for the wellbeing of the sheep. ***