Pickling Brine – Dill and Garlic

Makes about enough for a 48 oz container if the product (whatever you are pickling) is flexible, or 32 oz jar of larger tomatoes. Great for cucumbers, peppers and green tomatoes, which will be preserved for weeks and possibly months.

Ripe tomatoes should be eaten after twenty-four hours and before 1 week, or the skin will toughen and the tomato will get mushy. After one week, use a food processor or immersion blender to turn them into relish, which will hold another one to two weeks.

Note on Salt: I use kosher salt. The weight of pickling salt (according to Food In Jars.com) is 3/4 oz per Tbsp, so for this recipe, I weigh out 1.5 oz of kosher salt.

Extra ingredient for the more daring- 1-3 chilies like Summer Sizzlers, Poblanos, Jalapenos or a Serrano. Place into the jar first. The extra kick is amazing, and now you also have hot peppers.

Personal Note: I prefer this recipe for pickling red and hot peppers together. I cut the red pepper into long strips and put them in salad.
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Pickling Brine – Dill and Garlic

Ingredients-
1 and 1/2 cups cider vinegar
1 and 1/2 cups water
2 Tbsp pickling salt (or 1.5 oz of kosher salt)
2 Tbsp sugar (or 1.5 Tbsp of syrup, like maple or honey)
4 cloves of garlic (at least, I will use as many as a half head of garlic)
1/8 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp fresh ground Four Peppercorn Blend (pink,black, green and white peppercorns) substitute with black pepper, or 1/8 tsp crushed red pepper
1 Tbsp fresh dill

Instructions-
Place all ingredients in a pot, bring mixture to a boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, cool until it can be handled.

Prepare product. Be sure the brine has a way into the product (i.e.- poke the tomatoes with a skewer, cut peppers, etc…)

Place product into a very clean jar and add brine until it covers the product. Leftover brine can be stored for months in the fridge (remove solids after 2 weeks), but once you add the product, you need to keep an eye on it. For most product, I watch the color, they will fade considerably, and the texture will be odd long before it spoils. For ripe tomatoes, after a week I chop them into relish.