Making Fermented Pickles - Edwin LeFevre

INFORMATION AND DIRECTIONS for picklingvegetables in brine have been prepared for theuse of housewives and producers of pickles, and tomeet the needs of extension workers.

Cucumber (salt, sour, sweet, dill, and mixed)pickles and sauerkraut are given most attention.String beans, green tomatoes, chayotes, mango melons,burr gherkins, cauliflower, corn on the cob, andsome fruits, such as peaches and pears, are mentioned.

Although intended mainly for guidance in puttingup pickles on a small scale in the home, this bulletinmay be used also in preparing large quantities on acommercial or semicommercial scale.

This bulletin is a revision of, and supersedes,Farmers' Bulletin 1159.

Washington, D. C.

Issued August, 1924

MAKING FERMENTED PICKLES

By Edwin LeFevre, Scientific Assistant, Microbiological Laboratory, Bureau of Chemistry

CONTENTS

	Page
How brining preserves vegetables	[1]
Equipment for brining and pickling	[2]
Supplies for brining and pickling	[4]
Cucumber pickles	[5]
Salt pickles	[5]
Sour pickles	[7]
Sweet pickles	[8]
Dill pickles	[8]
Mixed pickles	[10]
Sauerkraut	[10]
Fermentation and salting of vegetables other than, cucumbers and cabbage	[11]
Causes of failure	[12]
Coloring and hardening agents	[14]
Tables and tests	[14]

ALTHOUGH excellent pickles can be bought on the market at all seasons of the year, many housewives prefer to make their own, particularly when their home gardens afford a plentiful supply of cucumbers.

Brining is a good way to save surplus cucumbers that can not be used or readily sold in the fresh state. Instead of letting them go to waste it is very easy to cure them, after which they may be held as long as desired or until they can be sold to advantage, either in local markets or to pickle manufacturers. Thus growers are protected against loss by overproduction or from inability to speedily market a perishable crop, and the pickle market receives the benefit of a steady supply.