Last weekend I helped a friend preserve his massive amount of cucumbers as dill pickles.
He grew these cucumbers himself. After they are harvested, he preserves many of them with his mom's help (for now). I knew how to make
dill pickles from our Mrs.Wages pickle mix, but never before had I considered how easy it would be to use ingredients all from my garden!
Forget all other pickling recipes - this is the best.
Ingredients
- 7 wide-mouth quart jars
- 7 wide-mouth lids & rings
- fresh dill, cucumbers washed and scrubbed (sort into sizes for nice-looking jars)
- 1 or more cloves of pealed garlic
 |
| Cucumbers |
 |
| Garlic |
 |
| Dill |
Brine
- 8 1/2 cups of water
- 2 1/4 cups of white vinegar
- 1/2 cup of pickling salt
Directions
GET ALL OF THIS GOING BEFORE FILLING THE JARS
- Wash 7 jars in hot, soapy water then rinse and let dry
- Fill water bath canner half-full with water; set on stove burner
- In medium saucepan, fit lids and rings together, cover with water, bring to a simmer
- In large saucepan, bring water, vinegar and salt to boil; turn off the heat; set aside
FILLING JARS:
- place a layer of dill and garlic at the bottom of each jar,
- tightly load cukes into the jar to the neck of the jar (depending on size you may have two layers of cukes)
- add a top layer of dill and garlic clove if desired
- Pour brine into filled jars leaving half-inch head space
- Add lid and ring to each jar, tighten them evenly (wiping the glass jar lip with a clean cloth will help ensure the jars seal properly)
Bring water almost to a boil (about 15 minutes depending on how fast it heats - too long and you'll not have crispy pickles)
- Remove jars, carefully set on a dish towel on the kitchen counter and wait for the seal - the indented lid (it sounds like a "pop")
Do you actually boil the pickles for 15 minutes or just take 15 minutes to bring it up to the boil?
ReplyDelete