Pickles and ferments
Making pickles, and the regulation that decides what else you must do
Updated
On this page10
A jam escapes the acidified foods regime by name. A pickle is the example the regulation was written around. That single fact decides the process, the paperwork and who you have to talk to before the first jar is sold, and it is the thing most new makers find out last.
Getting started
Before anything goes in brine.
Is this for you at allWhat the time actually costsWhat the money actually costsThe first season, month by monthWhat to buy before the first batchSourcing cucumbersWhere the ferment physically livesTurning a recipe into a productWhat your state allowsWorking with hot brineNaming it, and the words that carry a meaning
The brine
Acid, salt and water, and why none of them is seasoning.
Fermenting
The operation this craft turns on.
The temperature window, and what sits outside itBrine strength, and why you cannot reduce the saltKeeping it under the brineTending the fermentHow you know it is doneLive or shelf stable, and why you cannot be bothFermenting in jars rather than a crockKraut and kimchi, where the vegetable makes its own brine
Making a batch
The day it gets made.
What goes wrong
Named failures, with the cause for each.
Soft quick picklesSoft or slippery fermentsThe blossom end, and the sixteenth of an inchHollow picklesShriveled picklesCloudy brine, and when it is normalWhite sediment in the jarDark or discolored picklesWhen stock goes off in storageA jar that did not sealIt is not sour enoughThe batch is inconsistent
Jars and lids
Where the container decision lives.
Selling it
Inside the acidified foods regime.
Growing the operation
What breaks first.
Tools and directories
Things to use rather than read.
Beyond the jar
The obvious second products.
Written from 21 CFR 114, the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning Guide 6, and the National Center for Home Food Preservation. Every page names its source.