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Brine for Cucumber Pickles

A brine for cucumber pickles made with salt, saltpetre, soft water, and alum.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Des Moines. Plymouth church. [from old catalog] · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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Brine for Cucumber Pickles

Ingredients

Directions

Make the brine

  1. Combine one pail of soft water, one quart of salt, one tablespoon of saltpetre, and two tablespoons of alum.

Pickle and finish

  1. Pour the mixture over the pickles while boiling hot.

  2. After a few days, pour off the brine, scald and skim.

By Des Moines. Plymouth church. [from old catalog]. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Salt
Draws water out of the cucumbers and seasons the brine for preserving.
Alum
Helps the cucumbers stay firm and crisp during brining.
Saltpetre (in the method)
Helps the pickles keep their colour during curing.

The step that matters

Pouring the brine while boiling hot. Hot brine penetrates the cucumbers more readily and begins softening and seasoning them quickly. Letting it cool before pouring slows the exchange, so the pickles may cure unevenly.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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