I use brining and canning pickles to engage students in several concepts and processes over an extended time:
(1) Cucumbers become salty via diffusion
(2) Cucumbers shrivel and later firm up via
osmosis
(3) Bacteria ferment the cucumbers illustrating
halophilic organisms (extremophiles)
(4) Spices are anti-bacterial
(5) Water bath canning illustrates Boyles
Law and inhibitory effect of acidity
(6) Using a pressure cooker to sterilze tools
illustrates Charles Law
(6) Students become sensitive to the omnipresence
of microorgamisms; e.g. Clostridium
The brine is very important in pickle-making. Carelessly making or maintaining brine increases the possiblitiy of soft and unfit pickles. Cucumbers are placed in a salt brine and fermented approximately 4 weeks. From experience, I prefer recipe #2 for simplicity and ease in adjustment
Recipe #1 From Ball Blue Book
GENERAL DIRECTIONS
1. Use only freashly-harvested, slightly immature, pickling cucumbers.
2. Weigh cucumbers. Put cucumbers in a clean pickling container;
cover with a 10 percent brine solution made by dissolving 1
cup salt in 1 quarts water. (Cucumbers
may be added during the first day or two of the process if enough brine
is added to
cover them and salt is added in correct
amounts to maintain a 10 percent brine solution.)
3. Make sure the cucumbers are completely submerged in the brine.
Weight them down with a water filled zip lock bag
4. Store container in a cool, dark place.
5. Day two, add 1 cup salt for each 5 pounds of cucumbers. This
is nessary to maintain a 10 percent brine solution. Salt must
be added on top of plate or clean cloth (not
directly on the cucumbers) for even distribution throughout the brine.
6. Remove scum when it forms on top of the brine. Scum will destroy
the acidity of the brine and result in spoilage of the
product if not removed.
7. At the end of the week, add 1/4 cup salt for each 5 pounds
of cucumbers. Add salt in the same manner as No.5. Repeat
adding salt for the next 4 to 5 succeeding
weeks.
8. Fermentation resulting in bubble formation should continue
about 4 weeks. Test for bubbles by tapping container on the side
with your hand. As a second test, cut a cucumber
in half; if it is the same color throughout and has no noticeable rings
or
white spots, frermentation is complete.
9. Cucumbers may be kept in this 10 percent brine solution--no
additional salt is added after they are cured--until cucumbers
are used in a pickle recipe.
The best temperature for brining cucumbers in 700 to 750
F.
10.To use brined cucumbers in pickle recipes, they need to be soaked
in water to remove salt.
11. Can using a standard water
bath technique for 15 minutes.
Recipe #2 from Creative Pickling at Home (as modified by Dr. Whitey)
Ingredients
7 pounds cucumber
10-12 grape leaves optional
5-6 bunches of dill
4 Tbs whole pickling spices
1 1/2 cups kosher salt
2 cups white vinegar
2 gallons water
(1) Wash cucumbers and then layer in a crock,optionally alternating
with grape leaves (instead of a crock, buy a new 5-gallon
plastic bucket from a Home Depot type store).
(2) Mix salt, vinegar and water and pour over the cucumbers. Weght
the leaves, dill and cucumbers down with a plate covered by a gallon jug
of water. (Trim the edges from bucket top and it will work as a plate)
(3) Cucumbers must be immersed continually for the duration!
(4) Cover the crock with a clean towel at room temperature.
(5) After 3-4 days scum will begin to form. Skim this daily ( use a
fine screened coffee filter for this)
(6) After four weeks check the pickles for fermentation (cut a pickle
in half. Taste it too!)
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(7) Wash the pickles, slice as you desire and pack in clean jars (I
sterilize in a pressure cooker) with spices (garlic, dill seeds, pickling
spice, etc.) Kids will get creative at this step. Let them, and then later
discuss the merits of why their pickles taste different.
(8) Fill the jars to 1/4" of the top with a 4:1 water/white wine vinegar
(cider vinegar is OK also) mixture
(9) Water
bath can for 15 minutes
Yield 10 pint jars with 2 cucumbers (in spears) in each