ok.. pickling food makes it where it doesn't spoil quickly unless left opened for long periods of time. But pickling also means you use vinegar (usually) to pickle the stuff you're pickling which means there's a lot of salt content. Salt is bad for you, but it does keep things fresh. It's good and bad.
Acid pickling means pickle the acid.
pickling
Certain varieties of cucumbers have been bred specifically for use in pickling. By using these varieties, the home pickling enthusiast will end up with a crisper and more flavorful result. If growing cucumbers at home, be sure to select seeds that are labeled as "pickling" or "good for pickling" on the seed packet. Good choices for pickling cucumbers include: Pioneer, National Pickling, Saladin, Bush Pickling Liberty Hybrid, Ballerina, Boston Pickling, and Eureka Hybrid.
Pickling lime used to be an accepted method of adding crispness to pickled cucumbers. The USDA no longer recommends use of pickling lime. Pickling lime is alkaline and must all be washed off of the cucumbers or it can result in a less acidic pickling solution. It the pickling solution is not acidic enough it can allow botulism an environment in which to grow. Botulism cases have been linked to this situation and this is the reason it is no longer recommended.
Vinegar
Microorganisms are not a good thing when it comes to pickling. Generally you want to kill off microorganisms when pickling.
Because the acid in the pickling liquor reacts with the aluminum and spoils the pickles.
The addition of vinegar and the processing times are different for pickling than for canning. Canning cooks the vegetables thoroughly whereas pickling is done from the veggie's raw state.
Idle pickling size depends on the jar you are using for pickling. My grandmother (surely a pickling expert; she survived the Great Depression) says that for the best tasting results, they should be between 5 inches and 12 inches. Anything larger dilutes the flavor of herbs in the brine.
Vinegar
I'm not sure, but if you get a scale, and measure the weight f a pickling cucumber, I bet it will give you the answer
The process you are referring to is called pickling. Pickling involves dipping the metal in an acid solution to remove impurities, such as oxides or scale, from the surface of the metal. This process helps to clean and prepare the metal for further processing or finishing.