Sumter Cucumber is the most popular pickling cucumber variety to create pickles of all sizes.
What kind of cucumbers are best for pickling?
“I like to use medium-to-small-sized Kirby cukes,” says Brad. The Kirby variety has a thicker skin that can stand up to the pickling liquid, and remains crunchy, with a good snap, long after it’s been preserved. “You wanna find cucumbers that aren’t too big or too small,” says Brad.
Can you use any type of cucumber for pickles?
You sure can! You can pickle any variety of cucumber as long as it fits in the jar. However, you won’t get the same stellar results as you would get when using a pickling cucumber. Pickles made with slicing cucumbers tend to be softer, and because the seeds are much larger, they can turn some people off their pickles.
Is Sumter cucumber an heirloom?
Sumter Cucumber is a heirloom, tender, warm weather annual vegetable that is native to South Carolina, where it was developed by W.C. Barnes of the Clemson Agricultural Experiment.
What kind of cucumbers make the best dill pickles?
Kirby cucumbers are the classic pickling cucumber — they hold up better than English cucumbers during pickling, remaining firm and crunchy instead of becoming overly soft. I’ve also found that Persian cucumbers make very nice pickles — they have thinner skin and are the perfect size for packing into pint jars.
How do you tell a pickling cucumber from a regular cucumber?
Pickling cucumbers are shorter and bigger around than slicing cucumbers. They are bred to have thinner skins and black spines so the pickled product will look better. Pickling varieties can be eaten fresh and slicing varieties can be pickled, but the differences can be discerned by the average consumer.
How do you keep cucumbers crisp when pickling?
Soak Cucumbers In Ice Water Beforehand
If you’re not canning your cucumbers immediately, leave them in an ice bath or in your refrigerator overnight to maintain firmness. Doing this before you start canning them will give you the crunchiest pickles you’ve ever had!
Should I cut cucumbers before pickling?
Remove all blossoms from cucumbers and cut a 1/16-inch slice from the blossom end. The blossoms contain enzymes that can cause softening of the final product. Other ingredients that are important in preparing safe, high quality pickles are water, salt, and vinegar (for fresh pack pickles).
What makes a pickle crunchy?
The salt draws some of the excess water from the cucumbers, resulting in a crisper pickle. Adding a crisping agent is also helpful. Ball Canning makes Pickle Crisp (pelletized calcium chloride), another naturally occurring calcium salt.
Can you use store bought cucumbers to make pickles?
Select fresh, firm, unwaxed cucumbers. Quite often pickles purchased from a grocery store will have a wax finish — this will prevent the brine from penetrating and not properly curing to make a good pickle.
What are Sumter cucumbers good for?
Sumter Cucumber is the most popular pickling cucumber variety to create pickles of all sizes. Cucumber seeds grow into a very productive plant and cucumbers grow to be about 6″ long when fully mature. The straight, symmetrical produce has an attractive green color and firm, tender flesh.
Is Sumter cucumber a vine or bush?
55 days — The fruit of ‘Sumter’ cucumber vines are a medium-green color with white spines and are blocky and slightly tapered in shape. Well adapted for many parts of the country and excellent as both a home or market garden variety.
Are Sumter cucumbers self pollinating?
Sometimes described as self-pollinating, this is technically not true; as unpollinated female flowers will still produce fruit, and because they are not pollinated, you also get seedless cucumbers.
Why are my cucumbers bitter?
The actual cause of bitterness in cucumbers and other gourds, like zucchini, is due to a compound known as cucurbitacin. This compound is always present in cucumbers, but the levels change based on the growing process of the vegetables. The higher the level of cucurbitacin, the more bitter the cucumber.
Can you cut up cucumbers and put them in pickle juice?
To make quick pickles from leftover brine, toss cucumber slices in a colander with salt (1 1/2 teaspoons per pound of cucumbers) and let them sit for 1 hour; then transfer them to a jar. Bring the brine to a boil and pour it over the pickles. Seal the jar and refrigerate the pickles for 24 hours before eating.
How long do homemade pickles last?
Once you’ve opened a jar of pickles — homemade or store-bought — they’ll last for up to two years in the refrigerator. To ensure they stay fresh and don’t go bad, seal the jar completely after each use, and keep your fridge temperature set to between 34°F and 40°F.
What is the best tasting cucumber?
The best-tasting cucumbers are those that are slicing cucumbers. English cucumbers don’t have the bitter chemical cucurbitacin that some cucumbers have. They also have higher natural sugar content, making them sweeter. The lack of seeds and thinner skin also English cucumbers more enjoyable to eat.
Why do cucumbers make you burp but not pickles?
Cucumbers naturally contain the chemical compound cucurbitacin. This is said to be the reason behind gas inducing burps. By breeding cucumbers with low or no cucurbitacin, the theory goes that you will have cucumbers that do not cause burping. Cucurbitacin produces a bitter taste in cucumbers.
Can pickling cucumbers get too big?
Often these “pickling cucumbers” are extra crispy and dense when small so they make excellent specimens for fermenting/pickling, however, if left to grow bigger they become increasingly bitter until practically inedible!
Why do you soak cucumbers in salt water before pickling?
You will need a recipe, most of which will tell you to salt your sliced cucumbers and let them sit for about 3 hours (more is better). This salt treatment draws water out of the cucumbers and flavors them, so it’s critically important.
Why are my pickled cucumbers soft?
If the pickles are soft, they are spoiled from the yeast fermentation. Don’t use them. Using too weak a salt brine or vinegar solution may cause soft or slippery pickles, as can using moldy garlic or storing the pickles at too warm a temperature. These pickles are spoiled and should be discarded.