The Dill Crock, an American Custom. Review on Tips for Making Pickles at Home

I learned the rite of the Dill Crock from a writer friend of mine. The results are as memorable as he promised they would be. Making it has become as significant a part of summer for me as fireflies or shooting stars and fireworks. The aroma of the dill bouquet fills my kitchen every year about this time, and although my crock is smaller than the giant one my friend had, it does the job just fine. My sister found it for me; it’s a gallon sized one in a muddy colored salt glaze with a blue line ‘round the top.

A pickle crock is something the settlers of the USA used to pickle vegetables. It's fired and glazed pottery jar that holds from one quart to five gallons depending on size. To Make the brine you need to figure out how big your crock is. If you can fill it with a four quarts of water, then figure 4 cups to a quart and proceed, leaving enough room for the dill and whatever vegetables you want to use. Use 10 parts of water to 3/4 part of salt and then a scant 1/4 measure of vinegar (I like cider vinegar). Whatever the size, just use the measurements above and you should have no problems.

Pour the brine into your crock and add a good supply of fresh dill and a few cloves of fresh garlic, but don’t use too much. Now add whatever fresh vegetables your garden, green market or grocery store has been able to supply you with. Pack the veggies in layers with a little dill and a clove or so of garlic in between each layer.

When the green markets here are in full swing, I come home with bags full of fresh produce. I have fresh baby carrots, snap peas, spring onions (red and white), garlic, and best of all, fresh dill and baby green and wax beans. My favorites are the beans (par-boiled just a minute or so to get the fuzz off). I also add tiny spring onions, baby carrots and those snap peas. Cauliflower pieces, cucumber chunks, or little finger sized pickles and small green tomatoes are great, too. You can experiment with a handful of well-washed grape or cherry leaves if you have access to them.

Put a plate on top of the last layer to keep everything submerged. Let everything soak for a few days - the longer the better. As the aroma of the Dill Crock fills your kitchen, it will be hard to keep from digging you hand in to have a taste. Be patient, the wait is worth it. The beans come out crisp and tangy with the taste of dill. They are in NO way anything like those horrible Dilly Beans that flooded the market a few years back.

I even make a sandwich of them. You take two pieces of good white bread (something with some body, not that cottony stuff), spread them with mayonnaise and line some dill beans up on the surface. Cut the sandwich in half and take it out to the hammock you just put up in the back yard. A bowl of these vegetables on the table at dinner is nice, and I often visit this big, restorative vessel in the middle of a hot summer night when I can't sleep.