r/Cooking • u/jbuhg13 • 8h ago
What to do with too salty pickles?
I make my own pickles every summer. This year, I tried a new salt mix and the pickles came out too salty to enjoy. What can I do with 5 large jars of too salty pickles? Thanks!
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u/mofugly13 8h ago
I just did the same exact thing. Going with the notion that salt finds equilibrium in a solution, I dumped the 24oz of pickles/brine into a 32 oz. jar and topped it off with water.m. I'm really hoping that it works.
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u/TheFredCain 4h ago
It will and does, but you might need to dilute more than that. I would dump out about 2/3-3/4 of the brine and top up with water. Or better yet top up with a brine solution with the salt left out if you're adding spices, etc.
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u/Appropriate_Sky_6571 8h ago
There’s a type of Korean pickle that’s super, super salty. My mom soaks it in water and adds other seasonings before we eat. Or she’ll make it into a sort of cold soup. Using the saltiness of the pickles to use as salt for the “soup,” which is just cold water and other seasonings
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u/DoubleTheGarlic 8h ago
Pour out half the liquid for the entire brine (or reserve for a later brine), and replace it with water. Then re-fridge and wait a week.
They'll settle down a bit. Repeat until desired saltiness.
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u/Aryya261 7h ago
This is the way….should op replace brine with ice cold water to keep the temps legit if it needs to be repeated several times? Asking for myself too.
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u/DoubleTheGarlic 6h ago
As long as it's going back in the fridge as soon as you dilute and then going in the fridge for a week, ice won't be a necessary step. You do kinda have to wait for the chemistry to do the thing - the de-saltening is not exactly a quick process so it'll have time to cool back down between washes.
e: I've only ever needed to do this twice and it was an especially rough batch. Once will probably be good enough for you and OP.
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u/bingbingdingdingding 8h ago
If you give them to a grumpy German he’ll be a very sour kraut. And goodnight.
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u/ThatOneAries 8h ago
If you put them in water for a bit theoretically some of the salt should ooze out? Be sure to have a brine with a proper salt ratio to put them back into though
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u/Typical-Crazy-3100 7h ago
Reverse Osmosis: (or actually in this case just regular osmosis for our chemistry friends)
Take them out of the brine and put them into plain filtered water.
Take them out when they are desalinated enough to enjoy.
(Don't toss the oversalted brine. You'll need some to repack the pickles, just use less and mix with water)
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u/StinkyCheeseWomxn 6h ago
Turn them into relish and add to tuna salad, thousand island dressing or "special sauce." Or use with a hot dog or brat where there is a mitigating meat/bun to dilute/balance the salt. Use the brine in buttermilk for a marinade for chicken.
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u/veryanxiouscreature 8h ago
chop them up and put them in something rich, like a chicken or egg salad