AUG 22      BY COOL HAND FRANK

PICKLE POWER!

Yes, these are two jars of COOL HAND FRANK pickles. You can't have them! But maybe next year.

Last year, I embarked on a quest. That quest could have taken me to a grocery store. But walking mere steps outside my back door was better. My garden was the ideal destination: fertile soil, exposure to warm sun, and reasonable water from either rain or faucet daily.

Last summer’s garden produced a good harvest. Yet this summer’s garden produced a full, exceptional harvest: big winners include non-stop cherry tomatoes, triple the basil I expected, and way more spearmint than the year before. The harvest was a thrilling victory unto itself.

The harvest’s Boston cucumbers and dill, a/k/a “The Little Dill That Could” are two prizes I gained on my quest. Yet those are part of the true treasure I pursue: making the best DIY homemade pickles anyone’s ever tasted.

My anchor recipe comes from the kitchn. Of course, experimenting is essential for creating a personal signature flavor.

Last summer’s batch tasted delicious, though the pickle brine had an intense peppery bite more pronounced than I prefer. The culprit ingredients? I suspect the apple vinegar, garlic, crushed red pepper, or a combination of the two or three.

This summer’s batch is more impressive—less of the intense peppery bite, but still not quite the signature flavor I’m after. I split the essential one cup of apple vinegar, using half apple vinegar and half distilled white vinegar instead. (I briefly experimented with 1/3 cup apple vinegar, 1/3 cup rice vinegar, and 1/3 cup distilled white vinegar. No victory.) Even so, the pickles lack that unique balance of subtlety and sharpness I could call signature.

There is one more possible culprit ingredient —one that I have added to the recipe since day one of my quest. Could the ½-teaspoon Ball® Mixed Pickling Spice be the culprit? According to its label:

“INGREDIENTS: Mustard Seed, Black Peppercorns, Dill Seed, Cardamom, Cassia, Ginger, Coriander, Allspice, Chili Pepper, Cloves, Bay Leaves.”

Especially if you make homemade pickles, I’m open to insights or recommendations so I may improve upon mine —assuming they won’t blow up my kitchen.