I made dill pickles the other day and they are mushy. They taste good as far as flavor, but are seriously mushy. I always have mushy pickles. What am I doing wrong?

Thanks!!

-- DOREEN (animalwaitress@yahoo.com), June 08, 2002

Answers

Hi Doreen, I learned about 8 yrs ago that certain breeds of cukes will always make mushy pickles no matter the recipe. I now make dills using the baby cukes-about 2-4" long. They don't have much for a seedy center and you can pack a whole lot of them in a qt. Are the cukes you're using big? Could you post the recipe or send it to me? My recipe doesn't use alum or anything to keep them firm, just vinegar,salt,hot peppers,dill,garlic & cukes of course. I water bath the hot packed pickles for 15 min/qts.

-- Kathy Aldridge (beckoningwinds@yahoo.com), June 08, 2002.

I'm guessing you either cooked them too long, or you used cukes that were not fresh fresh, or were too ripe.

-- Granny Hen (cluckin along@cs.com), June 14, 2002.

Thanks....I think I overcooked them:(. I talked to my Mom the master pickler and she told me that you just bring them to a boil and then turn the heat off and leave them for ten minutes. Not boil them for ten minutes. I shal try again!

-- Doreen (bisquit@here.com), June 14, 2002.