The Story:

On sandwiches, as a side dish or straight out of the jar, pickles are a fun and easy thing to make. Pickling was invented at the dawn of civilization in Mesopotamia. It was – and still is – a great way to preserve for out-of-season consumption, and important to the many cultures that pickle a wide array of produce and other foods.

Many people eat pickles when cucumbers are in season just because they like the flavor. Pickles are so popular that Americans consume more than 2.5 billion pounds of them a year! Though we missed International Pickle Week by a couple of months, it is one of the country’s longest running food promotions. There are many different kinds of pickled cucumbers; at the store you will find varieties like Bread and Butter, Sour, Kosher, Dill, Relish and more. Below is a recipe for fresh packed pickles designed to be ready to eat in about 2 weeks.

What you need:

-        4 lb pickling cucumbers, quartered length-wise

-        3 cups water

-        2 3/4 cups white vinegar

-        1/4 cup pickling salt

-        6 teaspoons mustard seed

-        6 tablespoons dill seed (though I used Coriander Seed instead)

-        3 teaspoons dillweed

-        6 bay leaves

-        6 cloves garlic

-        1/2 cup minced dill

-        6 wide-mouth pint jars

-        Water Bath Canner or Deep Sauce Pot with a rack at the bottom (I know that a water bath canner is recommended for this process, but I just used a deep sauce pot with a rack at the bottom…hopefully this will work, but if not, the canners are not too expensive and easy to use).

The Process:

  1. Bring the water, vinegar and salt to a boil.
  2. Prep wide-mouth pint jars and lids by cleaning them thoroughly and washing them with hot water.
  3. Place 1 bay leaf, 1 teaspoon mustard seed, 1 tablespoon dill seed (or coriander), and 1/2 teaspoon dillweed in each jar.
  4. Add the cucumber spears and one clove garlic to each jar. Evenly divide the dill among the jars.
  5. Pour in the vinegar mixture.
  6. Close the jars and process for 10 minutes in a hot water bath
  7. Allow to sit 2 weeks before eating. Refrigerate after opening.

This recipe was courtesy of Coconut & Lime. More great pickle recipes can be found here.

For more information about Preserving, click here.

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