My first batch of pickling spice (given to me by The Pickle Guys, even though it meant I wouldn’t be buying as much from them!) had broken up bay leaves in it. Here’s a recipe very close to my own method (which is a mashup of a bunch of methods):
I mix up my own pickling spice, because the commercially-available ones include cloves, and NO. I also use a dill flower head instead of a bunch of dill, if I can get my stupid dill to produce one.
Makes sense. We went down the salinity road, because a few times the dish of half sours we noshed while the sandwich was on the way tasted little more than a cucumber spear that had been dunked in a mild saline solution. They tasted like a salad ingredient, not a preserved seasoned vegetable.
That’s a new pickle. Very short fermentation time.
The Arthur Schwartz recipe is essentially the same as the 2nd Avenue Deli’s which I use One thing I’ve learned though: Morton’s Kosher Salt is ‘saltier’ than Diamond Crystal brand. That can affect the final product.
Gram for gram? (She says as if she weighs her salt, which she does not.)
By weight they’re the same but Morton’s is finer so by volume it’s an important difference. Many pickle recipes only give volumes in their ingredients list so you have to be aware. My pickles were saltier than I liked until I became aware of this. For example, the 2nd Avenue Deli cookbook recipe calls for “1/3 cup kosher salt” with no brand designated.
One of my jobs as a kid was picking the cloves out of the pickling spice. You’re not alone.
I’m sure there are some things you can pickle that won’t be ruined by cloves. But cucumbers aren’t it.
I like those Batampe tomatoes and pickles, but I heart their sauerkraut. It has a little sugar in it.
“New” indeed to us. We’re accustomed to seeking Batampe half sours and garlic dills when shopping, and have never seen a jar labeled “new”; thus, our bafflement. Not much ferment for sure; and it’d be bad form to ask for a dish of Russian dressing for dipping.
Deli pickle connoisseurs will tell you there are new, half sour, and full sour pickles. For me, only full sours will do. The tomatoes only seem to be full sour and typically seem to have a bit of sugar in the brine. I’d try making my own but small green tomatoes aren’t something I ever see around here.
Oh my! Dipping a pickle in russian dressing is a new one on me. It will be placed on a list but the list shall be unnamed so as not to offend. 
I’ve put Russian dressing on pastrami and corned beef sandwiches since I was a kid (taking after my parents), so I can see this.
Try everything on the menu, we say. Way more often than not, the worst that happens is you don’t order it again. Curiosity usually doesn’t kill the cat. So, while not on the menu we last saw, years ago, Mom ordered pastrami egg rolls when we expected it would be latkes and matzo ball soup.
Enjoy! But I honestly don’t see the connection beyond it possibly happening in a deli. 
Still baking the challah recipe posted during this Fest. Nothing compares. Easy, fluffy and two loaves in record time with no overkill on the number of eggs in the dough.
I really enjoyed this article! Thanks for posting it!
Thanks. I forgot this thread existed.
