Could this work with pickles?

[Puggles]

If I bought a jar of pickles and ate them and saved the brine, could I slice my own cucumbers and put them in that used brine? It seems so easy, but I've never actually done it.

 

[SandwichShortOfAPicnic]

There would be other organic matter left in the jar from the previous pickles which would decay at the usual rate. So I’d say you could use it for as long as the original contents would stay good for ie not very long.

Don’t think I would bother.

 

[karadekoolaid]

If I bought a jar of pickles and ate them and saved the brine, could I slice my own cucumbers and put them in that used brine? It seems so easy, but I've never actually done it.

I've made pickles, chutneys, jams, conserves, marmalades - you name it, I've bottled it - for over 25 years.
In this case, I say yes, you can do it, but no, it won't taste the same. The cucumbers absorb a lot of the flavour from the brine and you'll probably end up with a very watered down version.
Pickling your own cucumbers is not a big deal. I use 2 tbsps salt to a litre of water (and sometimes, I mix water and spirit vinegar, half and half) and add peppercorns, mustard seeds and fresh dill.

 

[badjak]

I haven't done it with bought pickles, but I do with homemade vinegar pickles.
Esp my cucumber ones.
I just add some more vinegar.
Note that those are all quick pickles, I eat them within a week. Maybe 10 days

 

[The Late Night Gourmet]

I pickle things a LOT, and despite variations in seasonings and vegetables, pickling comes down to soaking vegetables in a brine that has salt, water, and vinegar. That's what's leftover in the jar, so it would work. The result won't be perfect, but it might inspire you to make your own.

You could try slicing up a cucumber, then heating the brine to a boil. Take the brine off the heat, and let the slices soak until it returns to room temperature. After a few hours, you should be able to taste a mild dill pickle flavor. It should become more pickley overnight, but it won't taste quite like a dill pickle. Still, it's an easy experiment to try to get you in the pickling mood.

When it comes to dill pickles, I've always loved Ted Allen's recipe:

Refrigerator Pickles: Cauliflower, Carrots, Cukes, You Name It

 

[karadekoolaid]

I pickle things a LOT, and despite variations in seasonings and vegetables, pickling comes down to soaking vegetables in a brine that has salt, water, and vinegar.

Absolutely agree, and I also pickle everything in sight (including myself ).
I've never re-used pickling liquid because i've always made my pickles from scratch, so, without any practical or scientific basis for my opinion, I just wonder whether a second-hand pickling liquid might just be weaker than making it fresh? Wouldn't the vegetables have absorbed some of that pickling goodness the first time around?

 

[The Late Night Gourmet]

Absolutely agree, and I also pickle everything in sight (including myself ).
I've never re-used pickling liquid because i've always made my pickles from scratch, so, without any practical or scientific basis for my opinion, I just wonder whether a second-hand pickling liquid might just be weaker than making it fresh? Wouldn't the vegetables have absorbed some of that pickling goodness the first time around?

I fully expect it to be weaker...not only do the vegetables absorb the pickling liquid, but the flavoring of the vegetable also seeps into the liquid, diluting the whole thing. This is more obvious when picking hot peppers, but I'm sure it's true for milder things.

Well...now I want to try this sometime to see how it goes.

 

[badjak]

Just for the heck of it:
I added some fresh ginger to an existing batch of pickles (green papaya, carrot pickle and whatever else).
I wanna see if it works, and if my ginger turn pink