# Making pickles **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 22, 2020, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-pickles/848366 "2020-02-22T22:07:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-pickles/848366/61 "2020-05-14T04:23:18Z")
So I did eventually try pickling via fermenting. I got four wide mouth mason jars and a kit on Amazon with glass weights and airlock jar tops. I’ve fermented cabbage and gotten pretty good sauerkraut. I’m fermenting some jalapenos now, jury is out. Fermenting cucumbers was a bit of a bust: I used Persian cucumbers, quartered, with dill and garlic, and… the pickles were soft and mushy. Refrigerator pickles were hands-down better. [Further reading](https://www.healthycanning.com/crisping-pickles/) seems to show that crisping cucumbers is quite the art. I’ve got some Ball Pickle Crisp in my Amazon cart, and I may try better Persians from a farmer’s market, plus Pickle Crisp, plus maybe dowsing the cucumbers in ice water before pickling. Anyone have tips? ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-pickles/848366/62 "2020-05-14T04:40:43Z")
Pickle crisp is the same stuff they put in cans of diced tomatoes to keep them from turning to mush (calcium chloride) - works pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2020, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-pickles/848366/63 "2020-05-19T00:34:08Z")
OK, I let the jalapenos ferment for 10 or 11 days. They finally grew milder, and I stuck them in the fridge. But they have a weird metallic flavor on top of the “mmm, pickled peppers” flavor that I’m not enjoying. Possibly they’ve gone bad, but I cautiously ate half of one little slice, waited a day and didn’t get ill. I think I’m going to call this one a failure though. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-pickles/848366.md?page=3)