Can I get botulism by using 2 cups vinegar to 8 cups water when canning pickles - as most recipes require 1:1 ratio of vinegar to water?
I recently canned pickles using 2 cups vinegar to 8 cups water ratio but I see that most canning recipes ask for 1:1 ratio of vinegar to water. My question is: Can I get botulism from using 2 cups vinegar to 8 cups water? (I boiled 10 min in water bath after).
Best Answer
While no one will tell you if you will get botulism or not, it's the acidity in pickles that makes them safe. According to Douglas Baldwin "Food pathogens can't grow below a pH of 4.0. 5% vinegar is 25% more acidic than this." He goes on to talk about the pasteurization step. You'll have to scroll a bit to read the section. We don't know your vinegar's starting acidity, and you diluted it significantly....So, you would have to calculate the total acidity of your brine, beginning with the acidity of your vinegar, to determine if you are within the correct safety parameters.
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Can botulism survive in vinegar?
botulinum needs a near-oxygen-free environment to grow, and doesn't like acid. Air and acids such as vinegar, lemon and lime juice help to keep us safe from food-borne botulism. That's one reason people preserve foods by pickling them in vinegar.Can botulism grow in vinegar pickles?
Making sure enough vinegar is added to the cucumbers is important to make safe pickles; Clostridium botulinum can grow in improperly canned, pickled foods with a pH higher than 4.6. It is critical to use scientifically tested recipes for making pickles to ensure their safety.What is the water to vinegar ratio for pickling?
The Basics of Making Refrigerator Pickles The basic ratio for quick pickles is 1:1 vinegar to water, and includes some combination of salt and sugar. Another ratio that is commonly followed is the 3:2:1 method, using three parts vinegar, two parts water, and 1 part sugar.How much vinegar do I use for canning?
In modern home canning, the accepted rule of thumb for safe vinegar / water pickling solutions is that the vinegar should be of at least 5% acidity, and that the vinegar ratio in that mix should be a minimum of 50%. So that is, 50 % of 5% acid vinegar / 50% water.How to Can Pickles in a Water Bath Canner...so Easy!
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Answer 2
Out of sheer curiosity, I recently tested my pickle recipe with an digital PH meter and used buffer solution to calibrate the meter.
Bacteria can't grow below 4.6ph.
My recipe uses Apple Cider Vinegar with 5% acidity at 1 cup vinegar to 4 cups water or 2 cups / 8 cups. I also used tap water and boiled the brine for a long time (Note: Both tap water and boiling reduce the acidity of the mixture.)
After testing my brine and a puree of pickles and brine, the acidity of the mix across two batches measured an average of 3.80ph.
- Straight brine: 3.23ph
The range (PINT jars):
- Pickle juice: 3.70ph to 3.80ph
- Pickle juice and solid puree: 3.79ph to 3.83ph
It takes a whole lot of water to dilute the acidity. So this range falls well below and well within the range of "safety".
*** Please note that I am not a chemist and these numbers are only applicable to my recipe and my kitchen methods. However, what is clear is that 1 cup vinegar to 4 cups water is safe, according to my experiment.
A 1 cup to 1 cup ratio would result in an extremely sour pickle.
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