class="smcap">Fig. 1.—Some suitable containers for home-brined products

Water-tight kegs or barrels are best for making larger quantities of pickles. Those used for the directions given in this bulletin are barrels holding from 40 to 45 gallons. They must first be washed, or possibly charred, to remove all undesirable odors and flavors. Undesirable flavors may be removed by using solutions of potash or soda lye. A strong solution of lye should remain in the barrel for several clays, after which the barrel should be thoroughly soaked and washed with hot water until the lye is removed.

Boards about an inch thick make the best covers. These may be of any kind of wood, except yellow or pitch pine, which would give the pickles an undesirable flavor. They should be from 1 to 2 inches less in diameter than the inside of the jar or barrel, so that they may be easily removed. Dipping the covers in paraffin and then burning them over with a flame fills the pores of the wood, thus making it comparatively easy to keep them clean. Heavy plates of suitable size may be used instead of boards as covers for small containers.

A clean white cloth is often needed to cover the material in the jar or barrel. Two or three thicknesses of cheesecloth or muslin, cut in circular form, and about 6 inches larger in diameter than the inside of the receptacle, makes a suitable covering. Sometimes grape, beet, or cabbage leaves are used for this purpose. Grape leaves are a good covering for dill pickles, and cabbage leaves for sauerkraut.

In addition to the jars, crocks, or kegs in which the pickles are made, 2-quart glass jars are needed for packing the finished product. If corks are used for sealing such containers, they should first be dipped in hot paraffin.

When vegetables which have been fermented in a weak brine are to be kept for any length of time, air must be excluded from them. This may be done by sealing the containers with paraffin, beeswax, or oil. Paraffin, the cheapest and probably the best of these three substances, is easily handled and readily separated from the pickles when they are removed from the containers. To remove any dirt, the paraffin should be heated and strained through several thicknesses of cheesecloth. Thus the paraffin may be used over and over again. The clean paraffin is melted and poured over the surface of the pickles in quantities sufficient to make, when hardened, a solid coating about half an inch thick. Where there are vermin, lids should be placed over the paraffin in jars and other covers should be placed over the paraffin in kegs. If applied before active fermentation has stopped, the seal may be broken by the formation of gas below the layer, making it necessary to remove the paraffin, heat it again, and once more pour it over the surface.

In many cases a safer and better plan for preserving vegetables fermented in a weak brine is to transfer the pickled product to glass jars as soon as fermentation is completed and seal tightly.

Almost anything which furnishes the required pressure will serve as a weight to hold the mass down in a jar or keg. Clean stones (except limestone) and bricks are recommended.

Fig. 2.—Salinometer

A pair of kitchen scales and suitable vessels for determining liquid measure are, of course, essential.

The salinometer, an instrument for measuring the salt strength of a brine, is very useful, although not absolutely necessary, in brining (fig. 1). By following the directions given here it will be possible to make brines of the required strength without the use of this instrument. Results may be readily checked, however, and any changes in brine strength which occur from time to time may be detected by the use of the salinometer.

The salinometer scale is graduated into 100 degrees, which indicate the range of salt concentration between 0°, the reading for pure water at 60° F,; and 100°, which indicates a saturated salt solution (26½ per cent). Table 1 (page 14) shows the relation between salinometer readings and salt percentages.

Salinometers are sold for about $1 each by firms dealing in chemical apparatus and supplies.

A sugar hydrometer is very useful in all canning and pickling work. Either the Brix or Balling scale may be used. Both read directly in percentages of sugar in a pure sugar solution. A Balling hydrometer, graduated from 0° to 70°, is a convenient instrument for the tests indicated in this bulletin.

SUPPLIES FOR BRINING AND PICKLING

SALT

Fine table salt is not necessary. What is known as common fine salt, or even coarser grades, may be used. Caked or lumpy salt can not be equally distributed. Salt to which anything has been added to prevent caking is not recommended for pickling and brining. Alkaline impurities in the salt are especially objectionable. Any noncaking salt which contains less than 1 per cent of the carbonates or bicarbonates of sodium, calcium, or magnesium may be used for this purpose.

VINEGAR

A good, clear vinegar of 40 to 60 grain strength (4 to 6 per cent acetic acid) is required in making sour, sweet, and mixed pickles, and is sometimes used for dill pickles. Many pickle manufacturers prefer distilled vinegar, as it is colorless and free from sediment. If fruit vinegars are used they should first be filtered to remove all sediment.

SUGAR

Granulated sugar should be used in making sweet pickles. The quantity of sugar required for each gallon of vinegar in making sweet liquors is shown in Table 3 (p. 15).

SPICES

Spices are used to some extent in making nearly all kinds of pickles, but chiefly for sweet, mixed, and dill pickles. Various combinations are used, depending on the kind of pickles to be made and the flavor desired.

Peppers (black and cayenne), cloves, cinnamon, celery seed, caraway, dill herb, mustard (yellow), allspice, cardamom, bay leaves, coriander, turmeric, and mace, are the principal whole spices for this purpose. Ginger and horse-radish root are used sometimes. All of these spices may be purchased in bulk and mixed as desired. Mixed whole spices, specially prepared for pickling purposes, sold in the stores, are, as a rule, satisfactory. Care should be taken to see that they are of proper strength.

Oil spices may be desirable under some circumstances, but their effect is not so lasting as that of the whole spices.

Turmeric has been much used in both the commercial and household preparation of pickles. While some of its qualities entitle it to be classed among the spices, it does not rank in importance as such with the others named. It is employed largely because of its supposed effect on the color of pickles, which is probably overestimated.

Dill herb is practically always used with cucumbers when they are fermented in a weak brine and often with other vegetables fermented in this way. It gives the pickle a distinct flavor which is very popular. The dill herb, a native of southern Europe, can be grown in nearly all parts of the United States and usually is obtainable in the markets of the larger cities. While the entire