But.....I've been experimenting with new recipes and foods the past year or so. I've learned to make my own crock sauerkraut which beats any commercial sauerkraut on the store shelves. (Topic of earlier Musing: Love Sauerkraut? Learn to Make Your Own!) My next adventure was learning to make dill pickles. I wanted to experience that great deli memory again. :)
I did not have a "crock" to use so I bought an "orphan" slow cooker crock that had a lid. The local thrift always has orphan crocks for a few bucks. They are a great deal and work perfectly for small batch fermenting. I anxiously awaited the arrival of the beautiful little "pickler" cucumbers that show up in the stores in late summer. I bought organic picklers, organic dill weed and organic garlic. I packed my crock per directions in the University of Minnesota recipe, covered and proceeded to enter the waiting stage. I also referenced Alton Brown's recipe (link appears below), to learn more about pickling.
I waited 3 weeks before sampling, but checked on them several times a week. They smelled wonderful. At the 3 week point, I gave my husband (the unofficial dill pickle judge) a taste. He said they were delicious. I packed my pickles into large jars and now have them in the refrigerator. I did not want to can them. I am sure we will use them up within the alloted time for refrigerator storage. I make my own tartar sauce when serving fish. I'll be chopping these up to mix in the sauce.
Assessment: When I make these again, I think I will sample them earlier. While this batch was wonderful, I think they were actually ready to eat much earlier, between the 1-2 week fermentation stage. Speed of fermentation is impacted by environment temperature. My crock was stored in the basement, and being summer, I think the temperature was a bit warmer. Next time, I'm going to put a thermometer near the crock so I can keep an eye on how warm or cold it is in the room as well as sample during the fermenting process.
http://www.extension.umn.edu/food/food-safety/preserving/vegetables-herbs/dill-pickle-recipe/
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/dill-pickles-recipe.html