Pickles!

Anyone who knows me knows that my sister and I are complete opposites. My mom often tells a story about how when we were little and on road trips, we'd stop at a McDonald's and get a cheese burger - my sister would eat the meat and I would eat the bread and cheese. She's a vegetarian now (thanks to me!) but the same philosophy persists. One of her absolute favorite foods is dill pickles. She can eat an entire jar in one sitting. She is truly a pickle connoisseur. I however, am not a pickle fan. No surprise there. BUT I love canning and giving my goodies to friends and family, so I decided to make pickles!

Canning makes a huge mess and takes time. But when you end up with lots of goodies and start hearing those seals pop, it is worth it!

You need basic supplies for canning: jars with lids, what I call my cauldron, a pot deep enough to submerge the big jars, a funnel and tongs that will grip jars are the minimum.

Ingredients: Pickling cucumbers (this is a special variety, be sure to get them and not regular ones!), white vinegar, water, kosher salt, fresh dill, and garlic.


Quantities can really vary here. The below recipe made 12 quarts of pickles. I used 2-3 cukes per jar, depending on size and chip or spear style (spears take up more room).

Directions:

1. Fill your "cauldron" high enough so the water will cover your pint jars and start to heat so it's ready when you are. If it starts to boil too far in advance, turn heat off and it will boil more quickly when you are ready for it.

2. Wash jars in warm, soapy water. Set aside.

3. Sterilize lids and lid bands in a saucepan full of boiling water.

4. Make brine mixture: Mix 17 cups water, 4 1/2 cups white vinegar and 1 cup kosher salt in large pot. Bring to a boil and set aside.

Right, the "cauldron"; back left, the big pot for the brine, and left front, the saucepan for sterilizing the lids

5. In the bottom of each jar, put a layer of fresh dill. I used herb scissors to cut it into little pieces. Then put one garlic clove in.

6. Fill the jars with cucumbers, packing as many in as you can. Leave a little space at top. You can cut them like chips, spears, or leave them whole if you want, if they are small enough. Mine weren't!

7. Put another layer of dill and another garlic clove in the top.

I made chips and spears! Fresh dill from the garden made it even better.

8. Ladle brine mixture into each jar, leaving about an inch of room in the top.

9. Put lids on and put into the boiling water bath. Leave in for about 5 minutes.

I didn't fill the cauldron up quite high enough so I had to tip the jars over!

10. Remove jars and set to cool. Check the seals to make sure they have sealed properly. Some might take an hour or two to seal.

11. Let sit for 2 weeks at least before opening to allow flavors to absorb. Turn upside down every other day during that period to mix.

12. Eat!

Pickles!