Would alum? I used alum to crisp up brined pickles. It worked really well and was very easy. Throw some in and they firmed up in a few hours.

don't think it'd do anything ... the vinegar, you know. Besides it not just the crispness ... these babies are almost crystallized, somewhat transluscent.

kay

Alum will not do a thing for pickles unless they are fully fermented. Alum otherwise is sort of an "old wives tale". It actually can make them softer in the jars.
Pickle Crisp is really good and I suggest using it.
Great product.

it's certainly worth a try, Linda ... IF I can get some this late in the season ... I'll also make a batch of the add sugar, cook, drain, add sugar, etc. and compare the texture. there may be no easy way to get what I want.
kay

I have an old recipe like that. Mine calls for fermentation, alum, and then multiple soaks with successively stronger sugar syrups.

I can see using the pickle crisp in lieu of the lime but I really think it's the multiple applications of the sugar syrup that is essential.

Basically what you're doing is candying green tomatoes in the same manner as you would for glace cherries.

Carol

yeah, seems I always chose products that require more not less work
kay

At the risk of veering off-topic, I would like to make pickled green tomatoes and wonder if there is a recipe out there using lime. The ones I am trying to replicate were very crisp and somewhat translucent, a little sweet, a little tart, with a touch of spice. Kayskats, is this what you have been making? Or are they really like glaceed fruits?

Anyway, I have been looking at recipes from GA and OR and none seems to use lime. I do not want a soft pickle...

Thanks!

amysrq - You can use the standard pickling lime pre-soak on just about anything you want to - including green tomatoes - as long as you do all the required rises, etc. You don't need to have a specific recipe that calls for lime pre-soak. Any pickled green tomatoes recipe will work fine.

Or better yet, you can just add Pickle Crisp to your Pickled Green Tomatoes. ;)

Dave

scroll down to two cuke recipies using lime soak at this site ...

http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/uga/uga_pickled_products.pdf

you could sub sliced green tomatoes in either. You might also want to look at the pickled spiced green tomato further down. It doesn't use a lime soak and uses a LOT of sugar.

None of these is quite what Mom used to make. But I'm still trying. We called hers Candied Green Tomatoes ... they were transluscent and crisp. It's the spices I can't get right.

kay

This is the recipe on the back on the Mrs. Wages pickling lime bag:

Old South Cucumber Lime Pickles
7 lbs. cucumbers (Slice crosswise)
1 cup Mrs. Wages Pickling Lime
2 gallons water
8 cups distilled white vinegar, 5% acidity
8 cups sugar
1 tablespoon salt (optional)
2 teaspoons mixed pickling spices

Soak clean cucumbers in water and lime mixture in crockery or enamel ware for 12 hours or overnight. Do not use aluminum ware.

Remove sliced cucumbers from lime water. Discard lime water. Rinse 3 times in fresh cold water. Soak 3 hours in fresh ice water.

Combine vinegar, sugar, salt and mixed pickling spices in a large pot. Bring to a low boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove syrup from heat and add sliced cucumbers. Soak 5-6 hours or overnight.

Boil slices in the syrup 35 minutes. Fill sterilized jars with hot slices. Pour hot syrup over the slices, leaving 1 inch headspace. Cap each jar when filled.
Process pints 10 minutes, quarts 15 minutes in a boiling water bath canner.

Test jars for airtight seals according to manufacturer's instructions. Refrigerate unsealed jars.

Linda Ziedrich also has a Limed Green Tomato Pickle recipe in Joy of Pickling which is slightly less sweet than the traditional.

Carol

I'd love to try the candied green tomato slices. I searched for a recipe but did not see one (although I did find one for candied jalapenos, yum!).

Kay if you would share I would be grateful as I've got loads of green tomatoes.

mabeldingeldine
you can sub sliced green tomatoes in Carol's recipe above or in either of the recipes at this site
http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/uga/uga_pickled_products.pdf
there also a spiced green tomato recipe at this site.

if you don't want to use the lime soak, you can sub toms for the jalapenos at
http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/blog/2010/05/23/candied-jalapenos-cowboy-candy/

My mother's recipe was lost a long tme ago, and I'm still experimenting ... I'm trying the last site above for both jals and green tomatoes

which candied jal recipe did you find?

thee's also a Martha Stewart tomato recipe (uses lime) out there but google is locking up my computer this am so I can't find it,
kay

Thanks for the help, Kay and everyone else!

here is the martha link...

Here is a link that might be useful: lots of sugar!