O ur garden is producing a bumper crop of pickling cucumbers! I now have two full crocks of refrigerator pickles, but not even a pickle craving pregnant woman nor a Midwestern pickle-consuming husband can keep up.
So Hubby decided to dust off his old recipe to can some pickles. A delicious fact about my Hubby is that he loves to cook — french toast, big dinner meals, yummy cakes (he makes me a birthday cake from scratch), and pickles.
The recipe he's used (which comes from an old friend's grandma, modified by Hubby's Mom) is pretty open to variation but the basics are as follows (for six quarts):
Fresh cucumbers, washed
Seasonings: Pickling dill in each jar Pickling spices (we found ours in the bulk section of our grocery store) Garlic cloves, two in each jar
Brine: Organic vinegar (1 quart) Water (3 quarts) Pickling salt (3/4 cup)
Sterilize jars in rolling boil in large pot. Pack cucumbers tight in sterilized jars with seasonings. Bring brine to rolling boil. Pour brine in jars. Let sit for 10-15 minutes, until cucumbers begin to turn olive.
Pour brine back into pot and bring to second boil. Fill jars with brine again, to 1/4-1/2 inch from top. Secure sterilized lids on full jars, and allow to cool. After jars have cooled, check that lids have sealed. Let cure for three months.
Our canned pickles won't be ready to sample until on towards the holidays. The Refrigerator Pickle recipe I blogged about a few weeks ago results in a much more mild flavor than these will have as there is no salt in the recipe. For some, the Refrigerator Pickles may be too mild (especially if you're used to really salty or sweet pickles), but I continue to use the recipe because as a swollen pregnant pickle consuming woman, the no salt and low sugar is a good idea for me. ; )