Pickles and Fermented Foods (includes pickles, sauerkraut, pickled vegetables)

Photo source: National Center for Home Food Preservation

New to canning or need a refresher course? Check our general canning information page.

How long do you need to process pickles? Why are you having problems canning pickles? Find the answers to these and more questions here.

  University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension Canning Pickles & Fermented Foods Publications
 

• Let's Preserve: Fermented and Pickled Foods
  UNL Extension EC 443 (15 pg. brochure). Procedures for safely preparing and preserving pickles, including fermented pickles and fresh-pack or quick pickles; includes recommended processing times and recipes for a variety of products. Questions or comments about this brochure? Contact author Julie Albrecht, PhD, RD
   
• Canning Cucumbers (pickles)
  Brief, 2-sided brochure including sweet and dill pickle recipes from Buy Fresh, Buy Local® Nebraska and UNL Extension. Questions or comments about this brochure? Contact author Julie Albrecht, PhD, RD
   
• Canning Beets (pickled)
  Brief, 2-sided brochure including pickle recipes and freezing instructions from Buy Fresh, Buy Local® Nebraska and UNL Extension. Questions or comments about this brochure? Contact author Julie Albrecht, PhD, RD
   
• Canning Carrots (pickled or fresh)
  Brief, 2-sided brochure including pickle recipe from Buy Fresh, Buy Local® Nebraska and UNL Extension. Questions or comments about this brochure? Contact author Julie Albrecht, PhD, RD
   
• Sauerkraut  (fermented)
  Brief, 2-sided brochure including canning instructions from Buy Fresh, Buy Local® Nebraska and UNL Extension. Questions or comments about this brochure? Contact author Julie Albrecht, PhD, RD

Additional Canning Pickles & Fermented Foods Publications from Other Sources

National Center for Home Food Preservation (NCHFP)

Following are some more canning resources you may find helpful.

NCHFP offers individual recipe sheets for a variety of foods plus answers to many common canning questions.

• Pickled foods (cucumbers, vegetables, relishes, chutneys, more), including special diets
   
• Fermented foods, including sauerkraut & dill pickles
  
  
• Pickled products canned with Splenda®
  • Can Splenda® (sucralose) be used in preserving food?
  • Recipes using Splenda®
    • No-Sugar Added Sweet Cucumber Slices
    • No-Sugar Added Pickled Beets
    • No-Sugar Added Cantaloupe Pickles
• Reduced sodium pickles
  • Reduced-Sodium Sliced Dill Pickles
  • Reduced-Sodium Sliced Sweet Pickles
• Most frequently asked pickle questions
• Causes and Possible Solutions for Problems with Pickled Foods
• Pickled Eggs (refrigerator storage only, no safe home canning directions)
• General information, including ALUM
• Salts used in pickling
  
• Suitable containers, covers and weights for fermenting food 
• Refrigerator dill pickles are NOT recommended because of problems with Listeria monocytogenes.
  Learn more about Listeria moncytogenes in the US Food and Drug Administration Bad Bug Book.
  

USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning, 2009 revision

Penn State Canning Series

These 2 to 6 page flyers give basic directions for canning pickles plus a few commnly requested recipes. (2008 Update, compatible with USDA 2009 revisions to their home canning recommendations) 

• Peppers (includes Pickled Peppers)
• Quick Process Pickles
• Sauerkraut

(Use of commercial and trade names does not imply approval or constitute endorsement by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension. Nor is criticism implied of products not mentioned.)