Dill Pickles
One of the iconic foods of the Jewish Deli is the dill pickle, fermented in a brine solution and flavored with a few pungent herbs and spices. There are almost as many recipes for these as there are grandmothers, because this type of pickle is characteristic of cuisines ranging across central Europe to the steppes of Asia. Certainly there are innumerable versions of ‘crock pickles’ found throughout the many different immigrant communities that Jeff grew up with in eastern Iowa. Below we present our version of this iconic food, inspired by two different recipes presented in Lucy Norris’ 2003 wonderful cookbook and oral history project: Pickled (ISBN 978-1584793007). One of the inspiring recipes comes from central Russia, and was shared by Yelena and Vladimir Groysman, while the other came from Jose Torres Jr. & Marvin Weishaus of the United Pickle Company in the Bronx. 6 pounds cucumbers. If only larger cucumbers are available cut each into 6 spears. Place cucumbers, dill, peppercorns, garlic, horseradish and currant leaves in a 1 gallon crock. Make brine by dissolving the salt and pickling lime into the vinegar and water. Cover the cucumbers with the brine. Place a small plate over the top, weighed down with a small sealed, watertight bag filled with clean pebbles to keep all of the vegetable material completely submersed. Let ferment in a warm place (70-85° F) for 5-9 days until the cucumbers change in color to a light brownish-green and they reach the desired level of sourness. If the brine level falls and exposes any of the cucumbers or other plant material, top off with fresh water.
Drain off the brine and reserve. Pack the cucumbers tightly into canning jars, dividing the dill, garlic, horseradish, currant leaves and peppercorns equally between all your jars. Top off with the reserved brine and process in a hot water bath for 20 minutes to seal. Let rest another week or two before eating. Archive |
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