What you're describing sounds like a "fresh" pickle only in the sense that it isn't canned.

To get a pickle with water and salt you need to ferment, and looking at the ingredients list, assuming the ratio is in decreasing order by weight, it looks about right for what's called a half-sour.

Here's a recipe. I'm not pro or con on this recipe as I haven't compared it to other fermented recipes or considered food safety issues. I just present it as an example of the kind of thing you're probably looking for.

Carol

Here is a link that might be useful: Half-Sour Pickles

Unless you fully ferment a pickle and then refrigerate you put yourself at a risk for listeria. Those type that are only let to sit for a few days do not have sufficient lactic acid yet to prevent food borne illness.
I am sending you a link to read if you are interested.
You can make a fully fermented pickle and have them turn out really well.

Here is a link that might be useful: Listeria in refrigerator pickles.

Agree with Carol that from the ingredients you list it sounds like a fermented pickle - specifically a classic "Jewish Kosher fermented pickle" and there are many recipes for making them online - some safe and some not so safe as they claim to be safe for counter storage. But these are not for canning - fridge only.

The NCHFP guidelines provides an approved recipe that calls for using only 1/4 cup of vinegar. Note the dill in the recipe is optional. But rather than celery as your list calls for, using celery seed or dried celery instead would be safer - less effect on the pH.

Dave

Can you tell me if you can use the leftover juice/brine from store bought pickles as long as you reboil? I like the flavor of store bought and usually when the pickles are gone you wind up with 1/4 jar full of juice and herbs.

Thanks
Mark

Mark, the only thing that is considered safe is to use the brine for salad dressings and use the brine up within a few days. Not only is it contaminated, but the brine has been diluted from having the low acid/moist vegetables in the brine. I know you said you would boil, it, but the acidity is reduced.

Thanks Linda_lou,
I was affraid I couldnt use it but figured Id ask anyway just to make sure. The acidity being the vinegar im taken is what you mean? Oh well I will try to endevor to make a brine that is flavorful yet not with an exrtreme vinegar taste. Are there recipes for brine that have a good pickle flavor with out an overwhelming vinegar taste?

Thanks Again
Mark

Yes, again you need a fermented pickle which depends upon the proper ratio of salt and the fermentation process itself for the natural formation of lactic acid. Those pickles (as opposed to quick pickles in a vinegar solution) will give you the traditional pickle flavor.

The best online document I know of on pickling is provided below. Also, a search of this forum using words like fermentation or other common phrases like kosher dill will pull up numerous threads with lots of advice on this process.

Carol

Here is a link that might be useful: Homemade Pickles and Relishes

Carol-Thanks for posting this document. I just read through the whole thing and it was wonderful!

Honestly, I think that is the most helpful document on pickle-making available. That it's free is even more astonishing.

UWex also offers a similarly helpful document specifically for sauerkraut.

Carol

Here is a link that might be useful: Make Your Own Sauerkraut

"Cucumbers fermented in salt brine
without added herbs or spices are
called salt stock.They may be stored
in the brine for several months and
then made into sour or sweet pickles."

I am curious about this statement from the Wisconsin booklet. They give no further specific information. I have an old canning book from the 1950's that also alluded to doing something like this.

The reason I ask is that everyone raves about the wonderful taste of salt fermented pickles. I have tried making them several times using conventional directions like the dill pickle recipe in the Wisconsin booklet, and we found them very very salty.

My old canning book talks about "desalting" the salt stock, them placing the cucumbers in a flavored/herbed brine (like something with dill) to finish the pickle. Anyone have more specific directions? Would this get me the taste of fermented pickles without the extremely salty taste?

Our previous fermented pickles had a good taste and a pleasing crunch, but they were just so so so salty that we couldn't eat them.

Sharon

OK, let's assume you have a crock of fully fermented pickles but they're too salty for you.

Remove the cucumbers from the brine. Rinse in successive washes of room-temperature water until sufficient salt has been leached out of the cucumbers to suit your taste. If you wish, you can accelerate the leaching and increase its thoroughness by taking a skewer and piercing each cucumber 6-8 times before rinsing. You can also cut cucumbers in chunks or spears and then rinse (if that suits the recipe you're planning to use).

Now your cucumbers are ready for the final preparation.

If you look at the link I posted above, there's a recipe (I think on p. 19) for a finishing brine with lower salt and vinegar. I always rinse my cucumbers and can in that brine resulting in a flavorsome but somewhat less salty pickle. I don't care for the "funkiness" of the original brine and always like to jar up my pickles with fresh.

Carol

I thought I would also share a link for slightly different instructions for de-salting cucumber pickles. These directions come from Michigan State Extension.

Carol

Here is a link that might be useful: De-Salting Cured Cucumbers