Recipe - Malosolnye Ogurtsy - Brined Cucumbers Maloss

24 Cucumber, medium pickling
34" long, 1 1/4" thick
1 ounce Horseradish root
1 Dill, bunch mature plants
with seeds
9 Clove garlic
One fourth pound Parsley, sour cherry and/or
black currant leaves
3 One half tablespoon Salt, noniodized per 2 qts
water

Prepare the cucumbers following the instructions for Brined Cucumbers.

Rinse the dill and divide in half. Scrub and rinse the horseradish and
slice thinly. Peel and halve the garlic. Wash the various leaves.

Fold half of the dill into a ring and place in the bottom of the jar. Strew
half the horseradish and garlic and 1/3 of leaves on top. Arrange half of
pickles upright, packing them tightly. Place 1/3 of the leaves on top,
then pack in the rest of the cucumbers in the same manner. Top with layers
of the remaining horseradish, dill, garlic, and leaves.

Combine the salt and water, stirring until the salt dissolves (the
percenteage of salt in this brine is 2.83.0 percent). Pour the brine into
the jar. The contents should be fully covered. Place the saucer inside the
jar with a weight (small rock?). Cover the mouth of the jar with 2 layers
of cheesecloth and secure with string.

Leave for 34 days in cool, airy room whose temperature is about 6468
degrees.

Remove the scum as it appears and wash the mouth of the jar daily. After
34 days, when most active fermentation has subsided a little, remove
weight and lid. cover jar with its own lid and refrigerate. In 1 2 days the
malossol cucumbers will be ready to eat. Because there is less salt in the
brine than Brined Cucumbers, malossol cucumbers should be eaten sooner.

Store the pickles on the lowest shelf of the refrigerator for 45 days,
after which they will become either too salty (and turn into regular brined
cucumbers) or, more likely, too soft and almost mushy.

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini