Hmmm.
I think this will be the better result.
Understood and thank you! They would just have gone out with the compostables last week, and they are good today
lIRC, they werenāt quite firm on the stem end when I pickled them.
When you see someone clawing through the kirbys, sizing each one and squeezing them a little to check for firmness, come say hi.
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Will do! As I mentioned above, I was surprised to find the Persian cukes, pre-chosen in a bag of four at the local Asian market, while the āpicklingā cukes were left to be clawed through at the Mexican market!
I didnāt check our local āregularā nor āhigh endā markets yet, but I will!
Kirby on the left. Both good, Kirby perhaps a bit more crispy.
They were different, but not that different. Of course I canāt eat all these pickles in one go, so
Enough tomatoes are almost ripe;
how about half sours for the cucumber in gazpacho?
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I hope itās OK to bring this back to the kosher dill recipes and Moe and the rabbi.
Iām going to be making a batch of dills tomorrow and, though I usually use the 2nd Avenue Deli recipe, Iām going to try Moeās this time. I think Iāve figured out the method, but one major difference from my past experience is that Moeās pickles sit out for only one or two days (before refrigeration) vs my normal 6 days for full sour with 2nd Ave. Iāve read and believed that fermentation slows way way down under refrigeration, so this difference seems critical to me.
To those with experience, whatās the benefit of my pickles spending 6 weeks in the fridge to reach full sour vs. the way Iāve been doing it? Thatās a LONG time to wait. TIA
I vote for the way youāve been doing it, because itās the way Iāve been doing it.
Soā¦ā¦ you wouldnāt try Moeās way?? Interesting.
I did Moeās. Only diff was I put them directly into the fridge because I wanted ānewā pickles. They are delish. Just a wee bit salty, but delish. 
Moeās.
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This is all so interesting. When my 2nd Avenues have been on the counter 6 days I put them in the fridge and they donāt seem to change flavor at all after that. I had one last night, after 6-8 weeks, that tasted the same as it did after a few days in the fridge. Must be other variables affecting all this.
Maybe ā¦ itās magic. 
I see no reason to mess with a method that Iām happy with. I live down the street from The Pickle Guys, who have been a good source of information for me over the years (they also gave me my first batch of pickling spice, free for nothing, because they are awesome). Their full sours stay at room temperature for two weeks before refrigerating.
Nice!! I bought sour tomatoes from them once, but I live in SoCal, so it was very pricey.
Temperatures play a big role in the quality of the end product. The preferred temperature range for fermented vegetables is around 55ā75Ā°F. I use my basement, which is generally around 60Ā°F. The hard part is cucumbers come in during the heat of summer.
Fridges can vary a lot, too. If your fridge averages in the low forties, fermentation will happen (albeit slowly) better than if it averages 34-39Ā°F.
The danger of chilling too early is that the bacteria making the preservative lactic acids wonāt have time to acidify the vegetables, which makes them prone to spoilage. The better strategy is to ferment at cooler room temperatures until the bubbling stops; then, chill.
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Iām about to make another batch, and have lots of leftover pickling liquid from the second trial. Can any part of it be reused for another round? Probably not worth the uncertainty when fermenting, but I thought Iād ask.
@bogman , I did buy that āFermented Vegetablesā book, so Iāll look there to see if they include ideas for using brine.
Yeah, your instincts are right. Reusing pickle juice is fine if youāre making refrigerator pickles in which the brine is being used as a flavoring agent, but not when fermentation is the intent. The brine will be diluted from liquids expressed by whatever veg was originally in it, and you wonāt be sure whether the concentrations will be strong enough for preservation.
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That bath is ice and water? For how long?
I just did mine overnight. Yes, just ice water.
You want them fully hydrated or theyll be soft.
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I did that, too.
