What Is Alum and How Can I Use It?

Here's everything worth knowing about alum and how to pick it, what it is, how to store it, and what to use instead, plus 15 recipes to cook tonight.

Recipes using alum

There are 15 recipes that contain this ingredient.

Crispies' Pickles

Old-fashioned sweet crispy pickles brined for 14 days then finished in a cinnamon-clove vinegar syrup. A heritage canning recipe that rewards patience with the crunchiest, sweetest pickles you'll ever jar.

Stone Jar Pickles

Old-fashioned stone crock pickles made over 15 days with a salt brine, alum soak, spiced vinegar cure, and sugar layering. A heritage pickling method that produces crisp, sweet pickles that keep indefinitely.

Chum Chum Sweet

Traditional Pakistani chum chum made from fresh paneer, tinted with saffron, simmered in sugar syrup and garnished with cream, pistachios, and fragrant kewra essence.

Dilled Green Beans

Crisp whole green beans pickled with dill seed, garlic, red pepper flakes, and alum for extra crunch. A classic canning recipe that yields 7 pints of spicy, tangy dilly beans.

Crystal Cukes

Old-fashioned crystal pickles brined for 8 days then boiled in a sweet spiced vinegar syrup until translucent. A heritage canning recipe with cinnamon, allspice, and cloves.

Kosher Dill Pickles

Kosher dill pickles: classic garlic-and-dill brined cucumbers with snap and bite. A simple vinegar-brine canning recipe that turns out crisp, tangy pickles after a six-week cure.

Sour Cucumber Pickles

Old-fashioned sour cucumber pickles brined in vinegar, sugar, dry mustard, and alum with no cooking required. A three-month cold-cure refrigerator pickle.

Best Corned Beef

Best corned beef cures your own brisket from scratch in a spiced salt brine, then simmers it tender. Real-deal homemade corned beef with garlic and pickling spice, far better than anything from a packet.

Favourite Pickled Tomatoes

Old-world pickled cherry tomatoes with dill seed, garlic, and peppercorns, packed with grape leaves for crisp texture. Russian-Ukrainian fermentation tradition in canning jars.

Maraschino Cherries

Homemade maraschino cherries preserved in sugar syrup with almond extract and lemon juice. A three-day canning project for bright red cocktail cherries without artificial preservatives.

Cinnamon Pickles

Old-fashioned cinnamon pickles made from cucumber rings soaked in pickling lime and candied in a sweet cinnamon syrup over 4 days. A cherished Southern canning tradition.

Hot Dill Pickles

Spicy homemade dill pickles with hot chili peppers, garlic, mustard seeds, and fresh dill in a vinegar brine. Crunchy, fiery refrigerator pickles ready in 3 to 4 weeks.

Crystal Pickles

Heritage crystal pickles brined for 5 days, boiled with ginger and alum, then simmered in sweet pickling spice syrup until glass-clear. A Southern canning tradition worth the wait.

Herman's Famous Kosher Dills

Herman's famous kosher dill pickles: crunchy refrigerator dills brined with garlic, fresh dill, pickling spice, kosher salt, and vinegar. Ready in just 2 days, no canning equipment needed.

Christmas Pickles

Bright red cinnamon-spiked Christmas pickles made from cucumber rings soaked in lime water, boiled with red hots candy, and canned in a sweet syrup. A multi-day Southern canning tradition.

All 15 recipes