I decided to try making pickles with lime juice instead of vinegar because hey maybe it'd be good, right? Well, they're not really pickles yet, but I'm starting to think that this might have been a mistake. The cut edges of the pickles are turning noticeably brown and they haven't even cooled yet so uhhhh. Yeah. Either lime juice no good, or a 1:1 ratio of juice to water to make the brine is not good. Either way, I'm assuming these will not be great pickles, I tell you hwut :Bwaaa:

I will keep y'all posted with my scientific endeavors

    • Parent [none/use name]
      ·
      2 years ago

      Damn I just saw that Ragusea video the other day and came here to post but you beat me to it. In that video he cites a recipe by Rick Bayless (brother of sports hot take machine Skip Bayless) that uses lime to make pickled onions. I'd look into it OP.

    • AmericaDelendeEst [any]
      ·
      2 years ago

      I am ashamed to admit this but my partner and I have been trying one of those meal delivery service things (which was an okay deal compared to the grocery store at first with the new customer "discounts", but as the price ramps up to "full price" lol no) in part to be exposed to new dishes and we've had multiple dishes "quick pickle" stuff in lime i.e. for tacos and stuff. Like tonight was a deconstructed bahn mi type thing in a bowl with jasmine rice and lime pickled cucumber slices, which in part inspired me to try this. The browning didn't happen with that (even though I let it sit longer than I think I was supposed to), so I'm wondering if it's because of the heat or salt or something. I really don't know. I'm hoping I don't make myself sick when I try them, at least. but we'll see, I'm gonna give them at least 48 hours like I do with my other pickles even if they end up looking real gross

      Also the mango pieces look pretty brown (they start out greenish) after it’s all done so maybe that’s expected?

      maybe using more salt is why they're turning so brown? because with regular pickles I've been doing 1:1 water and vinegar, and a tablespoon of salt for each 2 cups of brine. With this I had 1.75 cups of lime juice, and ended up adding 2ish tablespoons of salt, because all I could find was a lemon juice recipe using that much and figured maybe I should use similar amounts of salt with lime juice...

  • RedDawn [he/him]
    ·
    2 years ago

    I love making pickles. Also, have you ever tried not using vinegar at all, and just letting the pickles ferment in a salt and water brine? It's a little trickier maybe but those are the best pickles tbh. It's a similar process to making your own Sauerkraut (which is really easy, one of the simplest fermentations around. Highly recommend homemade kraut!)

    • AmericaDelendeEst [any]
      ·
      2 years ago

      I've thought about it but like, letting bacteria do their thing?? idk, just rubs me the wrong way, and it's not a quick process and I want pickles within a couple days got dang it

      • RedDawn [he/him]
        ·
        2 years ago

        It's about a week if I recall correctly? It's been a while since I did it.

        And yeah

        letting bacteria do their thing?

        I totally get you but it's safe and its also the process that brings us beer, wine, pickles, cheese, yogurt, and a whole lot of other food stuffs.