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That retired plumber at the county dump changed my whole approach to brine ratios
Guy named Frank saw me tossing out a failed batch of pickles and told me he'd been doing 5% salt by weight since the 70s and never had a batch go mushy. Stood there at the recycling center in Boise for a good 15 minutes just talking about salt chemistry. Has anyone else just had random strangers drop knowledge like that?
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paul2511mo ago
A 5% brine since the 70s? Man, that's a lot of salt over a lot of years. I guess if you're really into pickles it matters, but it's just crunchy salty cucumbers at the end of the day. Frank sounds like he had way too much time on his hands at a dump.
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gavinw451mo ago
@paul251 I gotta disagree with you here, that brine level actually makes or breaks the whole batch. A 5% brine is a pretty standard ratio for keeping pickles safe from bad bacteria while they ferment over time. Frank probably just wanted good pickles without wasting a whole season of cucumbers.
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