“I recently made homemade dill pickles by my grandmother’s recipe; I have made pickles by this recipe for a very long time. This year the pickles were bubbling when I opened them. There is a white film in the jars. They taste just fine but I am wondering if they are safe to eat. Here is the recipe:
These pickles are not safe. Please do not eat the bubbling dill pickles with white film in the jar. These pickles are spoiled and only a microbial analysis can tell what is spoiling them and whether it is harmful. Growth of either bacteria or yeast can produce gas. Growth of bacteria, yeasts and/or molds can cause the film. Molds growing in pickles can use the acid as food thereby raising the pH. A raised pH increases the chance that harmful organisms (such as the organism that causes botulism) can grow.
The proportion of vinegar to water in this pickling brine is 1 to 4 and is too low to be safe. A safe, tested quick dill pickle recipe is included below; the ratio of vinegar to water in this recipe is 3 to 4. Cucumbers contain very limited acidity and typically have a pH of 5.12 to 5.78. 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.
Quick Fresh-Pack Dill Pickles (from HGIC 3420)
Yield: 7 to 9 pints
Wash cucumbers. Cut 1/16-inch slices off blossom ends and discard, but leave ¼ inch of stem attached. Dissolve ¾ cup salt in 2 gallons water. Pour over cucumbers and let stand 12 hours. Drain. Combine 1½ quarts vinegar, ½ cup salt, ¼ cup sugar and 2 quarts water. Add mixed pickling spices tied in a clean, white cloth. Heat to boiling. Fill jars with cucumbers. Add 1 teaspoon mustard seed and 1½ heads fresh dill (or 1½ teaspoons dill seed) per pint jar. Cover with boiling pickling solution, leaving ½-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe jar rims. Adjust lids and process pints for 10 minutes or quarts for 15 minutes in a boiling water bath.
My recommendation is to dispose of the spoiled pickles where your pets (if any) cannot get to them (See HGIC 3000 http://www.clemson.edu/extension/hgic/food/food_safety/preservation/hgic3000.html for recommendations for safe disposal of spoiled canned foods). See the following links for tested information about making cucumber pickles from our Home and Garden Information Center.