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Brine for Cucumbers

A brine solution for pickling cucumbers, made with water, coarse salt, alum, and black pepper.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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Brine for Cucumbers

Ingredients

Directions

Make the brine

  1. Dissolve the alum in a little hot water.

  2. Combine the water, coarse salt, dissolved alum, and black pepper bag in a jar or keg.

Brine and soak the cucumbers

  1. Wash the cucumbers carefully, discarding any bruised ones.

  2. Add the cucumbers to the brine and place a weight on top to keep them submerged.

  3. When ready to pickle, soak the cucumbers for a short time, changing the water as needed.

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.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Coarse salt
Draws moisture out of the cucumbers and helps keep spoilage microbes in check during brining.
Alum
Helps firm the cucumber flesh so the pickles stay crisp.
Black pepper
Adds a sharp, aromatic spice flavor to the brine as it steeps.

The step that matters

Keep the cucumbers fully submerged. Any cucumber part above the brine can soften, darken, or grow mold, because the salt only protects what it covers. The weight keeps every cucumber under the liquid throughout brining.

“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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