this conversation started in a thread about apple butter with more in another thread about reusing pickle juice... I was getting so confused I decided to start a new one

I love Half sours, sometimes called half dones. I love walking into a Kosher deli with all those wonderful aromas and watching the counter man pull one out of that huge barrel. I usually bite into it even before paying and then wipe the juice from my chin.

I have not found a recipe that equals the taste of my favorite, but here's a link for Linda Ziedrich's "Joy of Pickling"

http://www.fabulousfoods.com/recipes/appetizers/pickles/halfsour.html

True deli half-sours are cured in salt brine .. no vinegar added, but a lot of people like the taste of

Clausen Kosher Dill Pickles

2 dill flowers

2 garlic cloves, peeled and halved

1 1/4 lbs. (8-10) pickling cucumbers

6 long sprigs fresh dill

1 Tbsp coarse kosher salt

1/2 cup white vinegar

Put dill flower and garlic in bottom of mason jar; add the cukes, put sprigs of

dill in center of cukes, add salt, vinegar, and fill jar with boiled water that

is now cool to within 1/8th of top. Put on seal and ring, shake to dissolve

salt, set upside down on counter away from sunlight and heat. Let sit 4-5 days

flipping the jar either upright or upside down each day. Let sit upright 2 more

days then refrigerate. Lasts about 6 months.

A friend and I make gallons of these for a friend living in an assisted living facility. He kept a couple of quarts in his small refrigerator and took one to the dining room each lunch and dinner.

I changed the recipe a bit:

Morton's Kosher salt has an anti-caking agent, so I switched to canning salt and he preferred the slightly saltier taste.

We packed the cukes loosely so he could easily remove them and I thought we were using too much water, so I used a measured 50/50 mix.

Used dill seed instead of the dill flowers.

For my own use, I add two or three dried hot red peppers.

I have used the same recipe for green tomatoes -- whole or quartered.

A couple of the canning gurus commented in one of the other postings that 1 tbsp salt might not be enough ... so I'd love to hear their suggestions