Kosher Jewish Pickles

Those of you who had the pleasure of growing up on the East Coast of the United States may have had one of these traditional Kosher pickles, made primarily by Jewish businesses. They are by no means your store bought pickles. They are even better then your favorite deli's pickles. These pickles are what all other pickles are founded on; quality. DO NOT be scared of making pickles. This is easy, and I will give it to you in layman's terms. In a good authentic Kosher pickle there is no vinegar. None, not a drop. What kind of pickle has no vinegar? A good one. Think of it this way, a pickle with vinegar is a pickle that could have been really good, but the maker decided to cheat, and quicken the process. How long is the process? 5 days, from start to finish. Too many for you? Then its time to move on. Want a fantastic, authentic, Kosher/Jewish pickles? You have found your recipe. Let us begin. P.S. The jar. I get my jar(s) by buying a big jar of crap pickles from a food warehouse. Then I wash it and pour some boiling water in it, and it is ready for use. I also boil the cap just in case, but have made many batches without ever using boiling water and I have never taken ill. Only reason I do use the boiling water on occasion is because my wife is around.

• Ready In: 2 hrs
• Serves: 15-25

Ingredients

• 20 -25  mildly ripe firm pickling cucumbers
• 1⁄4 cup kosher salt
• 1  head garlic, peeled and broken up into cloves
• 1  tablespoon  coriander seed
• 1  tablespoon black peppercorns
• 1  bunch fresh dill
• 1⁄2 lb  ice
• 3  grape leaves (optional)
• 16  cups water

Directions

1. Cut 1/16" off the ends of the cucumbers and scrub very well (leaving the blossom end on can lead to spoilage).
2. Soak the cucumbers in ice water for a couple of hours.
3. When cucumbers are almost done soaking, Mix the salt and water.
4. Sterilize or wash your giant pickle jar (about a gallon) from the food warehouse. Make sure you have properly disposed of all the lousy pickles that use to be in it, I Recommend your compost heap or the garbage. Wash the jar or sterilize it so it no longer stinks like the vinegar they used to make there inferior pickles.
5. Now it gets real easy. Pack as many of your pickles into the jar as you can. Use the rest for a salad or something. stick in all the dill (you can chop it, but it does not matter), all the garlic cloves, all the seeds, then stop, and look at your beautiful jar. If you have the grape leaves, stick them in at this time. I don't ever use them, but my buddy does.
6. Pour the salt water in the jar. All the way up to the top minus an inch, or a half inch or so. If you are short water, add some.
7. Tightly cover the jar with the lid that came on the giant pickle jar. Cover it tightly, as hard as you can turn, stop, then tighten again just to make sure. Stand back, and look at the beauty of what you have made.
8. Place jar UPSIDE down, with a towel over it (to keep it dark), in a cool (65-58°F) place in your home. Put a plate under the jar to see if it leaks.
9. The next day (24 hours later) check to see if the jar leaked. If it did, it means you didn't follow my instructions. Tighten the lid (if needed) and TURN IT UPRIGHT, cover it with the towel, and ignore it. Walk away.
10. Leave in cool dark place for five days. If you want to leave them for a full week, more power to you. Both time frames will result in a great authentic Kosher pickle.
11. Enjoy, then leave feedback on this recipe.