are my pickles safe?

14 years ago

I found a recipe online that was made for cucumbers. I sanitized the libds and jars. Used 10 cups of water and 10 cups of 5% white. I put them in a pot with salt and brought to a boil. I added this over cucumbers garlic dill and pepper corns. I had extra liquid and pickled some cauliflower and carrots mixed in a few jars. I placed all the jars in to boiling water, left then in for 15 min after the water came back to a boil. The jars are all sealed and the poptops are down.

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Comments (6)

digdirt2
14 years ago
Why not just use approved canning recipes in the first place and then you don't have to worry about it?

That recipe meets the MINIMUM safe level of vinegar for cucumber pickles - 1:1 ratio of vinegar to water. But it is not enough for cauliflower and/or carrots. NCHFP-approved recipes for pickled cauliflower call for undiluted vinegar and for carrots a 5:1 ratio of vinegar to water.

It is your choice whether to keep them or not.

Dave
cjtabares
Original Author
14 years ago
All I did was look for a recipe and found one. As I was looking for more info on picking I found out different things may have different requirements. That's why I ask, but from here on out I plan to only use approved recipes.

So would it still be possibly unsafe to eat shortly after canning or does it become unsafe for long term storage?
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digdirt2
14 years ago
That all depends on how long since you made them. According to the safety guidelines within 24 hours you can pop them open add more vinegar, put them in the fridge and they will be ok for a few weeks there. After 24 hours of sitting out bacteria has had the time to grow.

How many jars of the carrots and cauliflower are we talking about?

Personally I come down on the safety side of the line so while I'd keep the pickles I'd toss the carrots and cauliflower. But honestly, as the many made-up recipes out there prove, others would keep them all without a second thought. So only you can decide if the risk is worth it to you.

Dave
cjtabares
Original Author
14 years ago
There are only 3 and it was 48 hours ago. I have no problem tossing them so no big deal.
User
14 years ago
The 1:1 ratio is for pickles made with low or no salt.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pickle safety
digdirt2
14 years ago
Bit of a generalization there based on that 2001 article.

Low-Salt Pickles
Pickles and pickled products often contain large amounts of sodium. Salt can be removed from fresh-pack pickles, but cannot be removed from fermented (brined) pickles or sauerkraut.

Salt inhibits the growth of some microorganisms. In order to assure a safe product, no-salt pickles should contain at least a 1:1 vinegar/water ratio.

No where does it say that it ONLY applies to pickles made with low or no salt. Per NCHFP the 1:1 minimum approved ratio applies to all untested quick pack and non-fermented pickle recipes, not just low/no salt ones.

Of course it does not apply to fermented pickles as they don't contain vinegar anyway.

Dave