Please don't get impatient with my pickle questions

[dolls2]

Why do the cucumbers shrink in half when you start doing the boiling vinegar and sugar mix poured over them? This is my second recipe for sweet pickles and they both did this. I'm just so curious.

[Violet]

They shouldn't shrink in half. That often means the cucumbers were not fresh. That or sometimes it is the growing conditions.

Are they soft, too ?

What recipe are you using ?

 

 

What causes pickles to shrivel?

 

 

Shriveling usually results from using too strong a sugar or vinegar solution at the start of the pickling process. To avoid problems with shriveled sweet pickles, use small cucumbers (1 to 2 inches in length) or cucumber slices. Shriveling of fresh pack dill pickles or other whole cucumber pickles may result from using too strong a salt solution at the start of the pickling process.

 

 

 

Other possible causes of shriveling include:

 

 

 

•Using cucumber varieties not suited to pickling.

•Holding cucumbers too long before pickling.

•Using cucumbers from diseased or poorly nourished plants.

•Overcooking or over-processing.

•Unusually wet or dry growing season.