Homemade Dill Pickles

My pickling cucumber plants didn't take off this year due to an unseasonably cool, damp spring and summer.  I may get a few off of them in the next few weeks and I will preserve them as they come, but they won't give me as many as I was hoping for.  I picked up 10lb of unsprayed pickling cucumbers at a farmer's market a few days ago and they were gorgeous!  Clean, firm, green and obviously just picked.  I bought them along with some dillweed and my Saturday evening was booked!  Pickling cucumbers is not as labour-intensive as preserving fruit.  No peeling, chopping, or blanching.  And if you have your own plants, you can preserve them as you pick, one jar a day or less, if necessary.  Make sure you read through the recipe first, and have the right amount of ingredients on hand.  Beats running back and forth to the store several times as I did last night...

To make your pickles, you need:

• Canner
• Rubber gloves
• Large pot (for making brine)
• Small pot (for preparing lids)
• 10 canning jars (quart size)
• 10 lids and rings

 

• 10lb pickling cucumbers
• 10 cups white vinegar
• 10 cups water
• 10 Tbsp. Coarse Salt (not table salt)
• 10 heads of fresh (or previously frozen) dillweed
• 10 cloves of garlic

Directions:

• Pour all cucumbers into a clean sink filled with cool water
• Scrub with a soft brush, rinse and drain
• Prepare lids as directed on package
• Sterilize and prepare jars by placing in cold oven, heat to 200F.
• Bring vinegar, water and salt to a boil in large pot (this is your brine).
• Wearing rubber gloves, remove one hot jar from the oven.  Put one clove of garlic, one head of dill and a bit of the stalk including some of the hairy, green dill bits.   Place pickles in jar.  Arrange in jar to get as many in as possible without squishing them.  Don't go past an inch below the top of the jar.  Fill jar to 1 inch from top of jar with hot brine. Wipe lip of jar with clean cloth to remove any salt water.  Place hot lid on jar, screw on ring, and set aside.  Repeat until your pickles are used up.
• Place jars in canner and cover with water.  Put on lid and bring to a boil, boiling for 10 minutes.  
• Remove using canning tongs or rubber gloves.
• Let sit to cool.  You will hear the lovely popping sound as your lids seal.  
• Arrange on a shelf so everyone can enjoy your beautiful, tasty works of art! 

That's it!  Pickling is easy, quick and rewarding.  A few things to note though: 

• Let your pickles "pickle" for a good 30 days.  They won't taste like pickles until then!
• Your garlic may turn bluish but that's ok.  It's the vinegar making it change color.
• Keep left over brine in your fridge if you are going to do more pickles.
• If you are collecting cucumbers from your own plant, wash them as you pick them, let them dry, and store in a plastic bag in the fridge for up to a week while you add to the bag. When you have enough to make a jar, do it! 
• Don't use table salt
• Don't use regular cucumbers.  They will go mushy.  Pickling cucumbers are firmer. 

There isn't a whole lot to making pickles.  Once you've done it you'll wonder why you haven't been doing it all along.  It's a rewarding experience and you can take pride in your beautiful green jars of pickles.  Summer's bounty, one jar at a time, year round.