Monday, August 23, 2010

Pickles? Yes we can

I made some dill pickles two weeks ago and promised a friend that I would share the recipe, once I had tasted them and ensured that they were not craptacular. They are not.

The recipe comes from Better Homes and Gardens which, quite arrogantly, calls them "Best-Ever Dill Pickles" -- frankly, I've had better but I was very jazzed that they hyphenated "best-ever" correctly so I gave them a try.
Ingredients
3 to 3-1/4 pounds small pickling cucumbers (Kirbys)
4 cups water
4 cups white vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup pickling salt
6 tablespoons dill seeds

Directions
Thoroughly rinse cucumbers. Remove stems and cut off a slice from each blossom end. Slice cucumbers into thick slices (the slices should be 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick). In a large stainless steel, enameled, or nonstick saucepan combine water, vinegar, sugar and pickling salt. Bring to boiling.

Pack cucumbers loosely into hot, sterilized pint canning jars, leaving a 1/2-inch headspace. Add 1 tablespoon dillseeds to each jar. Pour hot vinegar mixture over cucumbers, leaving a 1/2-inch headspace. Discard any remaining hot vinegar mixture. Wipe jar rims and adjust lids.

Process in a boiling-water canner for 10 minutes (start timing when water returns to boil). Remove jars; cool on racks. Let stand 1 week. Makes 6 pints.

[ For variations and additions, check out the full recipe ]

2 comments:

  1. pickling salt???? I was doing fine until the pickling salt!!! :-O! What now?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Do not panic! You can use kosher salt instead, but you might want to add an extra tablespoon worth. Have fun!

    ReplyDelete