Monday, December 9, 2013

Refrigerator pickles without the refrigerator!

Over three months I was knee deep in pickling cucumbers. My favorite us of them is refrigerator dill pickles. I've canned pickles many times but I find them to be pretty mushy which ruins them for me. 
A few jars of pickles went into the refrigerator and with the rest we decided to try an experiment this year, refrigerating them in the spring!

Our spring generally runs year round and only slows to a trickle when we haven't gotten enough rain. It flows down to a pool that my husband has been working on to raise fish in. The water temperatures vary from the 30's to 50's throughout the year. With the constant inflow of water from the spring it never freezes.



At the top right of the deck you can see the solar panel and the water pump. It sends water to the hoop house and garden. In the spring pool on the left you can see the crate of pickle jars covered with a feed bag to keep the sun out.


I put each jar in to plastic bags to protect them but some have leaked.

This is one that had leaked. The bag had formed algae on the outside and was still protecting the jar.


 The jar was clean and completely sealed! And so far the pickles taste great!





Carrot