We Have Bubbles!

I tasted one of my pickle slices today and the pickles are nearly ready to put into the fridge or process.  As you can see, there are bubbles which form during the fermentation process and this fermentation actually started late in the first day of pickle making.

The slice I tasted has the beginnings of the good "tang" of a fermented pickle and has lost the pronounced cucumber taste.  Thanks to the grape leaves I put into the jar, they're also still crisp.  I think I'll let these ferment for another day or so then put them into the refrigerator.  I'll start another batch in a few days as I like this recipe.  I do think I'll add a little more hot pepper flakes to the next batch though.

If you think the pickles look murky and unappetizing, they actually don't.  I've used a grape leaf to help hold the cucumber slices under the brine then cut a circle from a deli container to use to make sure the slices are covered by the brine. The somewhat milky color of the deli container lid gives the pickles a murky look.

I don't know why the harvest always seems to come when I need to paint but maybe it works out that way because I'm not particularly fond of canning and freezing!  You know, maybe I'm using the need to paint as an excuse to get out of processing the harvest!

But, no, not really, I've been prepping some painting surfaces and they're all ready to receive the masterpieces that I'll surely paint on them so I'm just ready to get started!  lol  I have lots of subjects I want to paint and really want to get at them.

So, let me get at them!

Art of a Different Kind

Unfortunately, my life doesn't consist entirely of painting and other things too often take priority over time in the studio.

One such other priority is putting up the fresh produce we get from our garden.  This year has been a tad slow for garden veggies but they're beginning to ripen seemingly all at once now.  We're getting an abundance of cucumbers right now and even my husband can't eat them as quickly as they ripen so I've begun to make pickles.  My favorites are fermented garlic dill pickles with a touch of hot pepper flakes and there's a real art to getting them just right.

Most recipes call for the cucumbers to be left whole or cut into spears but my preference is to slice them as you can see.  I'm trying a new recipe this year and am starting with just a quart jar to see if we like them.  If so, I'll put up a couple of gallons - any more than that and they'll go bad before we eat them.

As I said, this is a fermented pickle.  You cover the cucumbers with a salty brine and keep them submerged in that brine to keep bad bacteria out while allowing good bacteria/yeast to ferment the cukes.  This process is much like bread, wine or beer using fermentation to produce their results.  After a few days to a couple of weeks of them sitting on the counter fermenting, you can put them into the refrigerator where they'll keep for several months or you can process them in a canner to stop the fermentation.  If you can them, you can leave them on a shelf in the pantry but they really aren't as good as when they're just refrigerated and the fermentation is slowed but not completely stopped.

Naturally fermented vegetables are supposed to be very, very good for your health - I think they're just very, very good and well worth the trouble to make them!