Beine for Cucumbers
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the brine
Dissolve the alum in a little hot water.
Combine the dissolved alum, water, salt, and pepper bag in a jar or keg.
Pickle the cucumbers
Wash the cucumbers carefully, discarding any bruised ones.
Add the cucumbers to the jar and place a weight on top to keep them submerged.
When ready to pickle, soak the cucumbers for a short time, changing the water as needed.
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.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Coarse salt
- Draws water out of the cucumbers and seasons the brine, helping preserve firmness and flavor.
- Alum
- Adds firmness to the cucumbers by helping keep their cell walls intact.
- Black pepper
- Adds aroma and mild heat to the brine as it steeps in the bag.
The step that matters
Keep the cucumbers fully submerged. Any cucumber left above the brine is exposed to air, which encourages spoilage and softening. A weight holds them under the liquid so the brine protects the whole batch evenly.
“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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