Pickle Thursday

My first pick of cucumbers is finally ready, enough to make a couple jars of dill pickles. Really I should have picked them a couple days ago as a few of them ar really big, but I'll just slice them this time. I love pickles, mostly because they are so easy to make, and super delicious. I like mine with extra garlic and dill. The fresher you can get the ingredients, the better they will be!

I had enough to do two quart jars, one sliced and one whole cucumbers. Here's the recipe with enough liquid to do 3 quart jars:

4 lbs cucumbers, washed. Slice them into quarters if they're large, or leave them whole if they're smaller. It's best to pack each jar with the same "kind" - either whole or sliced.

4 cups vinegar

4 cups water

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup pickling salt

For each jar:

1-2 heads of dill

1 clove garlic

1 bay leaf

1 tbsp pickling spice

1/4 tsp mustard seed

Sterilize the jars. Keep them hot.

Bring the vinegar, water, sugar, & salt to a boil. 

Put the dill, garlic, and spices into each hot jar, and pack each jar full of cucumbers, leaving room at the top.

Fill with boiling liquid, leaving 1/2" head space.

Centre the lids and add rings, finger tight.

Process in boiling wate bath for 15 min.

Leave them sit undisturbed for 24 hrs. Listen for the "pop!" that lets you know they sealed. Always a satisfying sound!