March 2: Free the Seeds I will be among the numerous Free the Seeds workshop presenters at Flathead Valley Community College. Join me to Learn to Love Lentils, the ultimate tiny seeds with a big impact. Full details of the daylong workshop schedule and seed giveaway are available here. Ongoing: Free Fermented Starters Need sourdough starter—or kombucha scoby, kefir grains, or another starter? Join the Sharing fermented starters Facebook group to share or request a free starter. If you want in-person instruction on how to use sourdough starter, contact me to schedule a sourdough workshop. Ongoing: This Situation Calls for Pickles I’m excited to announce that my first cookbook is on sale! The Complete Guide to Pickling is packed with essential information and 125 flavorful recipes, including mealtime pickles that are ready in minutes, refrigerator pickles ideal for single-jar batches, fermented pickles big on flavor and crunch, and processed pickles perfect for long-term storage. Order your signed copy today.
Books on food, preserving, and gardening abound, but these are the ones I turn to every season:
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Can I reuse the pickling liquid? No, it’s not considered safe to reuse the pickling brine.
One tip when refilling your pickle jar is to take out the last of the pickles from the previous batch before popping the fresh veg in. I forgot to do it last time, and now all my wonderfully cured pickle slices are trapped at the bottom of the jar.
At least once a week, someone asks me if they can reuse pickle brine. The kind that’s leftover in the jar after all the pickles have been eaten. I’m here to say, yes! You can absolutely reuse that brine as long as…
If you are looking to make your own pickles, consider trying my refrigerator dill pickles! They’re a quick pickle that can are a good introduction to the art of preserving. And you can reuse the brine when you’re all done!
I’ve also found that some chicken breeds produce eggs that are better for boiling and pickling. When you peel a hard-boiled egg, you find a white protein membrane between the shell and egg white, or albumen. Compared with store-bought eggs, our farm chickens have thicker shells, and even older eggs have membranes that tend to cling to the shells after they’ve been boiled, making them hard to peel. After boiling, I have the best luck peeling the speckled blue-gray eggs of the Barred Rock chickens. The reddish brown shells from the Rhode Island Reds can be hit or miss, but I almost always struggle to cleanly peel the light brown shells from hard-boiled Buff Orpington eggs.
March 2: Free the Seeds I will be among the numerous Free the Seeds workshop presenters at Flathead Valley Community College. Join me to Learn to Love Lentils, the ultimate tiny seeds with a big impact. Full details of the daylong workshop schedule and seed giveaway are available here. Ongoing: Free Fermented Starters Need sourdough starter—or kombucha scoby, kefir grains, or another starter? Join the Sharing fermented starters Facebook group to share or request a free starter. If you want in-person instruction on how to use sourdough starter, contact me to schedule a sourdough workshop. Ongoing: This Situation Calls for Pickles I’m excited to announce that my first cookbook is on sale! The Complete Guide to Pickling is packed with essential information and 125 flavorful recipes, including mealtime pickles that are ready in minutes, refrigerator pickles ideal for single-jar batches, fermented pickles big on flavor and crunch, and processed pickles perfect for long-term storage. Order your signed copy today.
Pickled eggs keep and travel well, and we’ve been eating them regularly all summer. They have become staples for multiday cruises aboard The Blue Mule, and they make a great post-yoga snack or grab-and-go breakfast with the garden’s latest berries. I’ve learned a few tricks along the way that will help you when making pickled eggs. 
Fresh eggs keep best if they’re unwashed. They’re naturally coated with a thin protective layer, called the cuticula, that protects them from bacteria and spoilage—just like your cuticles protect the area where your fingernails slip under your skin. If you’re planning to hard-boil and pickle them, you do want to keep them for a bit; freshly collected eggs can be challenging to peel. I have the best results if I store fresh eggs for at least 1 week before washing and boiling them.
The pickled egg equation has two parts: hard-boiled eggs plus vinegar brine. When I make egg brine from scratch, I use 3 parts vinegar (5% acidity) to 1 part water—higher than the 1:1 ratio I use for most vegetables. The main reason is that the pH of eggs is far higher than that of most vegetables. Eggs are also susceptible to many bacteria, so four practices help in ensuring food safety:
Recycle Your Pickle Brine to Make Super Easy Pickled Eggs
FAQ
How many times can I reuse pickle juice for pickled eggs?
Can I use the same brine for pickled eggs?
Is it OK to reuse pickling brine?
How long do eggs last in pickle juice?