Summer is in full swing and the cucumbers are cucumbering.
We are picking several each morning and I’ve been canning up some yummy pickles to have for the year.
Today I’m sharing the recipe I use, which makes enough brine for about 1-1.5 gallons (ziplock bag size) of cucumbers. I probably sliced up about 12-15 pickling size cukes.
It’s best to pick them first thing in the morning and use them right away for maximum crispiness. I don’t use any sort of added ingredient to keep my pickles crisp.
Homemade Pickles:
8 cups water
8 cups white vinegar
3-4 cups sugar of choice
8 TBS salt
8 cloves garlic
Dill
Steps:
1. Prep & wash your canning jars (you can also just refrigerate these but let them sit 2 weeks before consuming, to soak up that brine).
2. Add garlic and dill to each jar. I use a sprinkle of powdered dill weed or a few sprigs of fresh dill from the garden.
3. Boil the brine. Add water, vinegar, sugar & salt to a pot and bring to a boil.
4. Slice cucumbers into spears or chips and stuff tight into jars (leave .5 inch head space).
6. Carefully ladle the hot brine over the pickles into each jar.
7. Add your clean lids to each jar and process in a water bath for 7-10 minutes. If using quart size jars, process for 10-15 minutes (once boiling).
*If you are like me and suffer from hard water, add a teaspoon of vinegar to your water bath pot and you will completely eliminate the white film that dries on the jars! It’s like magic.
Let us know if you try this recipe! Feel free to add other spices if you’d like!
