farmersdaughter’s Recent Comments

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  A 5 to 6 per cent brine (50-60 grams per liter H2O) is what I use for a full sour pickle. A half sour is about a 3 1/2 % brine (35 grams salt per liter of water). On that note, I always use sea salt for its higher mineral content, but pickling salt works as well. Kosher salt has additives and should be avoided. I have used oak leaves with success and often make crunchy pickles with no leaves at all. The key is fermenting at cool temperatures and being sure that none of the cucumbers have any part of the blossom still attached. The blossom contains an enzyme that causes the pickles to soften. Yeast can also cause pickles to loose their crunch.On Home pickles made easy--and delicious posted 1 month, 2 weeks ago 6 Responses

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  Both of the links by elizaleigh actually refer to vinegar pickles as opposed to lacto-fermented ones, which are featured in the article. This a perfect example of how rare the real thing actually is in our modern society. Vinegar pickles are tasty, but they are also dead. Our global marketplace prefers them that way because dead pickles provide standardization and lengthy shelf life -- just like bleached flour and pasteurized milk. Health is sacrificed in this system. Brined, fermented pickles are full of beneficial enzymes and friendly bacteria that make for a healthy gut. Besides all that, they have a deeply satisfying, nuanced flavor that you just don't get from vinegar pickles. Try 'em and see!On Home pickles made easy--and delicious posted 1 month, 2 weeks ago 6 Responses

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  Pint Jars. 

  On Reveling in the season's tomato bounty, from pasta sauce to easy preserving posted 3 months, 1 week ago 16 Responses

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  The oven is set to such a low temperature that it doesn't even heat up the house.  There are traditional methods for sun drying tomatoes, but you need to live in a dry climate (I'm in the humid South) so I've never tested those recipes. 

  On Reveling in the season's tomato bounty, from pasta sauce to easy preserving posted 3 months, 1 week ago 16 Responses

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  Winter cress and chickweed

  Under the snow might be a problem, true, but otherwise, you might be pleasantly surprised by the wild greens that can pop up when the temperatures are still freezing.  Lots of different types of wild mustards, including the aptly named winter cress can be found though the winter as can chickweed.  I've had a carpet of chickweed growing over my raised bed vegetable garden all winter long.  It's tender, delicious and what one of my favorite herbalists Susan Weed calls, a "Wise Woman" herb.  It's good for men, too. :)  On When the season's first edible weeds poke through, it's time for gumbo z'herbes posted 8 months, 2 weeks ago 8 Responses