Kosher Pickles

I was shocked to learn that Kosher Dill Pickles are not in fact pickled.  They do not involve pickling or vinegar, but rather are fermented! 

I've really enjoyed reading about the history of these pickles, and learning to make them. These pickles were first brought to the US by eastern European Jews (which is why we call them kosher, it doesn't actually have to do with kosher laws as regular pickles would fit within those laws as well).  There was a time when the US wanted to ban kosher pickles as they were seen as limiting the assimilation of the Jews in New York.  While this didn't actually happen, and instead they became a staple of New York food, fermented foods are uncommon in the US.  As it turns out properly fermented food is about as safe as properly pickled or canned food, but is harder to make on a large scale and so is not often used. 

We are not yet sure how many cucumbers we will need to plant this year, particularly given that we still have a large number of dill pickles in storage, and so we are testing out Kosher Dills to find out if we want to make them as well.  While they are best when made out of small pickling cucumbers we used the only kind currently available.  To keep the pickles crisp you first must soak them in ice water. 

Then you add them to your pot with the required spices.  Generally this would include garlic (half a head, not peeled) and dill, as well as optional peppers.  Carrots and a green banana peel also help to keep the pickles crisp.  We also added radishes, because pickled radishes are delicious. 

Then we added the brine, which is 1 liter of water for every 3 T of kosher salt, the pickles must stay below the water.  This then sits until fermented (when the pickles start to get soft you put it in the fridge).  Some people use clear containers so the sun can get in, others don't.  Also some people top it with rye bread, we did not. 

In the end they were very much like New York Kosher Dills, but were still not as flavorful as our ordinary pickles, which we will be sticking to.