Mrs. Wages, Pickle Crisp, and the Quest for Crunch

[Mike]

We grow cucumbers for two reasons in our garden.

First, there is nothing better than grabbing a fresh one, slicing it up for a salad, or doing it the old-fashioned way: soaking them in a bowl of buttermilk with some salt and pepper. If you've never tried the buttermilk soak, you are missing out.

But once the vines really start producing and we can't eat them fast enough, it’s time to break out the canning jars.

No special recipes here, either, we just use the "cheat code". I know some people have secret family recipes with 15 different spices, but I keep it simple. I use the Mrs. Wages Kosher Dill recipe (usually it's right on the back of the package of their canning and pickling salt).

I use the water bath method because I find it the easiest/safest. For 90% of our jars, we stick to the standard Kosher Dill flavor but, for a few special jars, I’ll throw in 1 teaspoon of dried red pepper flakes to make a spicy garlic version.

The War On Soggy Pickles​

The biggest headache with homemade pickles is keeping them crunchy. Nobody wants a limp pickle! I’ve experimented with a few things over the years:

• Alum: I tried this a few times, but honestly, it didn't seem to work that well for me.
• Grape Leaves: A co-worker has grape vines, so we’ve used fresh leaves in the bottom of the jars. This actually works pretty well (the tannins help keep the crunch), but I don't always have access to them.
• Ball Pickle Crisp: This has been the winner. It’s consistent, easy to find, and seems to give the best "snap" for us.

I also tried adding mustard seeds to a batch last year because I see them in store-bought jars all the time, and I know several folks who use them in their own recipe. Turns out we just didn't like the flavor nearly as much as our plain Jane ones. We are sticking to the basics this year.

What's your secret to the best pickles? Does anyone else use the Mrs. Wages packets, or do you mix your own brine from scratch? And more importantly, what are you using to keep them crunchy!?

 

[GardenerSteve]

You sure got this place up quick! Glad you posted this about the pickles. I didn't know you just used the pickle recipe right off the bag. I thought you used an old family recipe. Do you use fresh dill or dried dill?

 

[Mike]

Ha! Yeah, I've tried a bunch of those fancy recipes. Heck, we probably tried three different recipes last year, but the Mrs. Wages bag gets the salt-to-vinegar ratio perfect every time. Why mess with success?

As for the dill, I'd recommend always using fresh if you can. Dried dill is okay in a pinch, but it loses that 'snap' and bright flavor during the canning process. If you can’t grow it, just grab a bunch from the produce section. It makes a huge difference. Besides, eating that sprig once all the pickles are gone is good too! I'm not sure how good it is for you, but it holds a lot of flavor that I enjoy. I eat the dill sprig and all the garlic cloves from our jars once the pickles are gone.