Our garden has done very well so far and I FINALLY got around to making pickles. I remembered to take pictures too! You'll have to go to my other blog to see garden pictures.
Assemble your ingredients ... vinegar, fresh dill sprigs, fresh garlic, fresh onions, turmeric (optional), salt (not optional!!), and of course ... cucumbers! Also have ready your hot, sterile jars. I keep mine hot in the dishwasher ... what a great help that is. I always have more jars ready than I think I'll need.
Make your brine - I use about 15c water, 4c vinegar and 1c salt. Place in large pan, set to boil, then turn to low.
Slice your cucumbers into desired shapes. Get your pans, lids and bands ready:
Have your daughter make dinner (or get it in the crockpot before you begin) ... you probably will not feel like making a meal during or after canning! Brianna made basmati rice (rice cooker to the back left in the picture), and vegetables (fresh zucchini and summer squash from my uncle's garden, mushrooms and carrots). She sauteed the veggies in water, then added a little butter, olive oil, salt and italian seasonings just before serving.
Put into each quart jar: 1/8t-1/4t turmeric, a few slices of onion, 2 cloves of garlic and 2 sprigs of fresh dill:
Pack in your cucumbers, fill about 1"-3/4" to top with brine, lid and band the jars and put into boiling water:
Sometimes jars break :( thankfully this was the last batch!
Bring to a boil and then take out ... if you leave in too long, your pickles will loose color and crispness. Here's a picture of the finished pickles; I used 1/4t turmeric, however next time I am going to use 1/8t:
I made 1 1/2 batches of 'brine' and got 12qt jars full ... 11 after the broken one (we ate the cucumbers). A quart of brine was left; that got stored in the refrigerator for next time. Let jars sit over night to cool. Check seals, take off bands and store in cool dry place. I let the pickles sit for at least 2 weeks before opening.
Clean up and enjoy your dinner!
Hello again,
ReplyDeleteI am really enjoying finding your blogs.
I love all the canning you do. In New Zealand we call it *bottling* or *preserving* My Mum used to do so much during the year and we always had loads of desserts. One year she tried homemade baked beans which ended up a complete disaster. They fermented as she had used the wrong salt I believe, and they exploded with smelly beans and sauce and glass everywhere. Poor Mum!!
your pictures are so nicely presented and it' looks so much fun.
blessings Sandra in NZ