what is a sour pickle
What is a pickle? A pickle, at its most broad and basic, is just a vegetable that has been made sour. Pickling refers to the act of souring (or acidifying) something (usually vegetables, but sometimes fruits, eggs and even meats).
A half sour pickle has a wonderful crisp bite, and a tangy slightly sour taste. Depending upon the pickle spice blend that you choose to use, you can vary the flavor slightly while still retaining the basic principles of the half sour.
Traditionally, half-sour pickles use a fairly light brine of about 3.5% salt by weight. This translates to about 2 tablespoons salt per quart of water. We made a brine with 1/2 gallon water and 5 tablespoons kosher salt. If you're using canning and pickling salt or sea salt, use slightly less--about 4 tablespoons for 1/2 gallon of water. We also like to use grape leaves in our pickles. Grape, oak, or sour cherry leaves are often used in old pickling recipes because they contain tannins that prevent the pickles from going soft.