How to make Old-Fashioned Barrel Kosher Dill Pickles, naturally (2024)

Looking for How to make Old-Fashioned Barrel Kosher Dill Pickles, naturally - made easy, using natural ingredients, and illustrated! in 2024? Scroll down this page and follow the links.And if you bring home some fruit or vegetables and want to can, freeze, makejam, salsa or pickles, see thispage for simple, reliable, illustrated canning, freezing or preservingdirections. There are plenty of other related resources, click on the resources dropdown above. If you are having a hard timefindingcanning lids, I've used these, and they're a great price &ship in 2 days.

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How to make Old-Fashioned Barrel Kosher Dill Pickles, naturally - made easy, using natural ingredients, and illustrated!

Using the "Old-Fashioned Barrel Kosher Dill Pickle" method!

Yield: 7 to 9 pint jars

Click here for a PDF print version

Making and canning your own dill pickles the old-fashioned way, with allnatural ingredients has never been easier!! Here's how to do it, in easysteps and completely illustrated. But this is NOT a recipe for abeginners. It often takes several tries to get the method down right to produce crisp pickles. Scrupulous attention to cleanliness and diligence in each step isrequired.

This recipe is very similar to many old fashioned kosher dill pickle recipes, like Ada Gail's Authentic Jewish Dill-Pickled pickles and thosesold in general stores for generations.

Background: Types of Pickles

This recipe:

• Fermented pickles (the recipe on this page) are vegetables soakedin a brine solution for 4 to 6 weeks. Old-fashioned barrel pickles werecured using the fermentation method. Basically, yeast produces acid topreserve the cucumbers, along with a lot of added salt (brine). During this time, lactic acid bacteria, naturally present on the surface ofvegetables, grows. Other microbes are inhibited by salt. The color of thevegetables changes from bright green to olive/yellow-green, and the whiteinterior becomes translucent. Examples include dill pickles and sauerkraut.

Other types of pickles (on other pages) are:

• Fresh-pack (or quick process) pickles are cured for several hours in a vinegar solution or are immediatelycombined with hot vinegar, spices, and seasonings. Examples include dills,bread-and-butter pickles and pickled beets. these are substantially easierto make than fermented pickles.See this page, if you'd rather make Quick Process pickles..
• Refrigerated dills are cucumbers marinated for 1 day to 1 weekin a salt and spice brine (in the fridge) and then stored in therefrigerator for up to 2 months. No canning is required! See this page for refrigerated dill pickle directions!
• Fruit pickles are whole or sliced fruit simmered in a spicy,sweet-sour syrup. Examples include spiced peaches and crabapples.See this page for directions tomake spiced peaches!
• Relishes are made from chopped fruits or vegetables that arecooked to a desired consistency in a spicy vinegar solution. Examplesinclude corn relish and horseradish.See this page for cucumber picklerelish directions!

Click here for Causes and Possible Solutions forProblems with Fermented Pickles

Ingredients

Use the following quantities for each gallon capacityof your fermentation container

• Cucumbers - fresh, crisp - not wilted, soft or overripe!
• 4 lbs of 4-inch pickling cucumbers
• 2 tbsp dill seed or 4 to 5 heads fresh or dry dill weed (it is SOeasy to grow, plant it next to your cucumbers)
  
• 1/2 cup salt (canning or pickling salt - NOT table salt)
• 1/4 cup vinegar (5 percent)
• 8 cups water and one or more of the following ingredients:
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 dried red peppers (optional)
• 2 tsp whole mixed pickling spices (optional)
• a fermentation crock. For more information about what is a suitablefermentation container, see"Suitable Containers, Covers, andWeights for Fermenting Food". andClick here to find out where to get fermentation crocks.

Equipment

• Jar grabber (to pick up the hot jars)
• Lid lifter (I like the lid rack that holds 12 lids or you can pull them out one at a time with the lid-lifter that has a magnet from the almost-boiling water where you sanitize them. ($4 at Target, other big box stores, and oftengrocery stores; and available online - see this page)
• Jar funnel ($5 at Target, other big box stores, and often grocerystores; and available online - see this page)
• 1 large pots; Nonstick ceramic coated pots for easy cleanup.
• Large spoons and ladles,
• 1 water bath canner (a huge pot to sanitize the jars after filling(about $30 to $35 at mall kitchen stores, sometimes at big box storesand grocery stores.). Note: we sell many sizes and types of canners forall types of stoves and needs - see canning supplies
• Pint canning jars (Ball or Kerr jars can be found at grocery stores,like Safeway, Publix, Kroger, grocery stores, even online - about $13 per dozen 8-ounce jars, more for quilted design or larger jars, including the lids and rings). Be sure to get wide mouthjars to fit the pickles in! Pint size works best!
• Lids - thin, flat, round metal lids with a gum binder that sealsthem against the top of the jar. They may only be used once.
• Rings - metal bands that secure the lids to the jars. They may bereused many times.
• See this pagefor pickling supplies, equipment, books, crocks and additives.

Pickling Equipment Notes:

The basic equipment used for pickling is similar to other types of canning.However, there are some differences:

• Utensils made of zinc, iron, brass, copper, or galvanized metal shouldnot be used. The metal may react with acids or salts and cause undesirablecolor and taste changes in the pickles or make pickles unfit to eat.Likewise, enamelware with cracks or chips should not be used.
• For fermenting and brining, a crock or stone jar, an unchippedenamel-lined pan, a glass jar, a bowl, or a casserole can be used for smallquantities. Kegs and barrels (made of hardwood and either enamel, glass, orparaffin lined) can be used for larger quantities. The container used mustbe fitted with a flat dish to fit inside and cover the food in the brine. Aweight is necessary to hold the dish down and to keep the foods below thesurface of the brine. A glass jar filled with water and closed with a capmakes a good weight.

Directions - How to Make Natural Fermented Old Fashioned DillPickles

Step 1 - Selecting the cucumbers

It'sfun to go pick your own and you can obviously get better qualitycucumbers!

At right is a of picture cucumbers from my garden - theyare SO easy to grow. But be sure to grow the varieties that are labeled"pickling cucumbers" - they will be much more crisp!

Thepicture at right shows a good cucumber for pickling (bottom) and a bad one(top). The good one is dark green, firm, and not bloated. It haslots of warts!

The bad one is overripe, it has yellow or white areas inthe skin, and the warts are almost all gone. If you cut it open, youwill see developed seeds. You don't want seeds!

Overripe cucumbers make mushy pickles.

Step 2 - How many cucumbers?

It takes about 3 or 4 cucumbers to fill a pint jar. Each cucumberis about 4 - 5 inches long and you will cut off the ends so they will fitwith 1/4-inch to spare..

Step 3 -Wash and cut the cucumbers!

I'm sure you can figure out how to wash the fruit in plain cold water.

You will need to cut a 1/16-inch slice off the blossom end and discard,but you must leave the stem end and 1/4-inch of the stem attached.

You maythen pickle the cucumber whole; or you may choose to slice it in halflengthwise to make halves; and if you want, again to make spears(quarters).

Set them aside for use in step 6.

Step 4 - Fill the crock

Place half of dill and spices on bottom of a clean, suitable fermentation container.For more information on containers see "Suitable Containers, Covers, andWeights for Fermenting Food," below

Add cucumbers, remaining dill, and spices.

Step 5 - Add the vinegar and salt

Dissolve salt in vinegar and water and pour over cucumbers. Add suitablecover and weight.

Step 6 - ferment the cucumbers

Store where temperature is between 70ºF and 75ºF for about 3 to 4 weeks whilefermenting. Temperatures of 55º to 65ºF are acceptable, but the fermentationwill take 5 to 6 weeks. Avoid temperatures above 80ºF, or pickles will becometoo soft during fermentation. Fermenting pickles cure slowly. Check thecontainer several times a week and promptly remove surface scum or mold. Caution: If the pickles become soft, slimy, or develop a disagreeable odor,discard them.

Step 7 - Long term storage

Whether you store them in the fridge or can them, you need to do thefollowing 4 steps first:

1. Pour the brine into a pan,
2. heat slowly to a boil, and simmer 5 minutes.
3. Filter brine through paper coffee filters to reduce cloudiness, ifdesired.
4. Fill jar with pickles and hot brine, leaving 1/2-inch headspace.

Next, follow either Option 1 OR Option2:

Option 1

Canning fully fermented pickles is simple, safe way to store them.

Get the jars and lids sanitizing

Thedishwasher is fine for the jars; especially if it has a "sanitize" cycle.I get that going while I'm preparing everything else, so it's done by thetime I'm ready to fill the jars. If you don't have a dishwasher,submerge the jars in a large pot (the canner itself) of water and bring itto a boil.

Be sure to let it go through the rinse cycle to get rid of any soap!

Get the canner heating up

Fill the canner about 1/2 full of water and start it heating (with the lidon).

Start the water for the lids

Putthe lids into a pan of hot, but not quite boiling water for at least several minutes.Note: everything gets sanitized in the water bath (step 7) anyway, so this justhelps to ensure there is no spoilage later!)

Needlids, rings and replacement jars?

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Adjust lids and process as recommended in Table below, or use thelow-temperature pasteurization treatment described below.

Option 2 - Low-Temperature Pasteurization Treatment

The following treatment results in a better product texture but must becarefully managed to avoid possible spoilage. Fully fermented pickles may bestored in the original container for about 4 to 6 months, provided they arerefrigerated and surface scum and molds are removed regularly.

• Place jars in a canner filled half way with warm (120º to140ºF) water.
• Then, add hot water to a level 1 inch above jars.
• Heat the water enough to maintain 180º to 185º F water temperature for30 minutes. Check with a candy or jelly thermometer to be certain that thewater temperature is at least 180ºF during the entire 30 minutes.Temperatures higher than 185ºF may cause unnecessary softening of pickles.

This document was adapted from the "Complete Guide to HomeCanning," Agriculture Information Bulletin No. 539, USDA, revised 1994. ReviewedJune 2006.

Suitable Containers, Covers andWeights for Fermenting Food

A 1-gallon container is needed for each 5 pounds of fresh vegetables.Therefore, a 5-gallon stone crock is of ideal size for fermenting about 25pounds of fresh cabbage or cucumbers. Food-grade plastic and glass containersare excellent substitutes for stone crocks. Other 1- to 3-gallon non-food-gradeplastic containers may be used if lined inside with a clean food-grade plasticbag.Click here to find out more about fermentation crocks. There is also a goodbook about making old-fashioned sauerkraut.

Caution: Be certain that foods contact only food-grade plastics. Donot use garbage bags or trash liners. Fermenting sauerkraut in quartand half-gallon Mason jars is an acceptable practice, but may result in morespoilage losses.

Cabbage and cucumbers must be kept 1 to 2 inches under brine whilefermenting. After adding prepared vegetables and brine, insert a suitably sizeddinner plate or glass pie plate inside the fermentation container. The platemust be slightly smaller than the container opening, yet large enough to covermost of the shredded cabbage or cucumbers. To keep the plate under the brine,weight it down with 2 to 3 sealed quart jars filled with water. Covering thecontainer opening with a clean, heavy bath towel helps to prevent contaminationfrom insects and molds while the vegetables are fermenting. Fine qualityfermented vegetables are also obtained when the plate is weighted down with avery large clean, plastic bag filled with 3 quarts of water containing 4-1/2tablespoons of salt. Be sure to seal the plastic bag. Freezer bags sold forpackaging turkeys are suitable for use with 5-gallon containers.

The fermentation container, plate, and jars must be washed in hot sudsywater, and rinsed well with very hot water before use.

Causes and Possible Solutions for Problemswith Fermented Pickles

Click here for the fermented pickleproblems and solutions page.

See this page for a more complete set ofmore general frequently asked pickling questions and answers

Note about Pickle Mixes

Tointerject a crass commercial here - hey, I've got to pay forthe website somehow :) I have found the best (crispest, best tasting)pickles from a mix are with the "Mrs. Wages Polish Dill Refrigerator PickleMix" They REALLY are good AND you don't need a canner - you store them inyour fridge right after making them. They're ready to eat in 24 hours!Our affiliate sells the mixes (and at really good prices, too)

Whether you want dills or sweet pickles; canning them or straight intothe refrigerator; there is a mix for every taste and need here!Getthem all here, delivered direct to your home, at the best prices onthe internet!Get everything you need to make pickles: mixes, salt, brine, etc. here!

How to make other pickles - recipes and instructions:

• Refrigerator pickles (nocanning required)
• Cucumberpickle relish
• Pickled beets
• Pickled green beans
• Pickled dilled okra

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• Vacuum Foodsealers for freezing, dried foods, and refrigerated foods - the FoodSaver line
• Selecting a KitchenAid mixer and attachments for home canning
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• Strainers, pit removers, seed-skin-stem removers, jelly strainers, etc.All types, makes and prices (from $19 to $350)
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