Making pickles requires keeping the vegetables submerged in the brine so they don't get yucky. But what to use as weights?
Stones?
Hmm. This may be traditional but I have a hard time believing I could get them clean enough.
Plastic baggies filled with pickling juice?
This is what is usually recommended but it just doesn't appeal to me. (Does the plastic leach anything out during the fermenting period?)
Hand-made ceramic discs?
They're lovely but they're $22 (plus shipping) for three, and each jar needs a couple so that would get pretty expensive to do the multiple jars of pickles I've got going on.
No, the perfect solution are these little glass candle holders from IKEA.
They're called Glimma and at $1.99 for a six-pack, they're safe, sanitary, and cheap.
And they fit perfectly inside wide-mouthed Ball jars.
So, fill the jar with vegetables (leaving a bit of headspace) and top off with brine, allowing the liquid to flow into the glass dish, so it is full and submerged too. Wipe up any spills, screw the lid on, and let the fermentation begin!
Signed,
Wren
(P.S. Glimma also comes in a smaller size. Maybe they could work for narrow-mouth canning jars??)
Pickles! Yum. How very crunchtastic.
ReplyDeleteI see on the package label that these were made in China.
ReplyDeleteHow certain are you that these are safe to use and won't leach? Given the history of adulterated products produced in China, I'm not sure I trust these to not leach harmful chemicals or metals into my food.