Hit 1000 jars of pickles canned last month. Lost count before.

I've been canning my grandma's dill pickle recipe for 7 years now. Hit 1000 jars last month and realized I never tested the acidity level. Anyone else just trust the old family recipe without checking?

2 comments

2 Comments

ray_carr1mo ago

My buddy Mark did the same thing with his great aunt's salsa recipe. He canned 500 jars before he checked the pH and it was way too low. Had to toss half of them.

kevin_wells461mo agoTop Commenter

That "checked the pH" part hit close to home. My buddy Dave got all excited about fermenting hot sauce and did a whole batch of 50 bottles with ghost peppers. He thought the pH was fine because the vinegar smelled strong enough. Turns out he was way off and ended up with a batch that turned into a science experiment in his closet. We had to toss every single bottle and it stunk up his apartment for a week.