Wednesday, August 25, 2010

August 25, 2010

Dill Pickles
Who doesn't love a crisp, homemade dill pickle?  My boys eat them by the jar-full!  Unfortunately my long row of cukes didn't produce like I had hoped, but I did get several jars squirreled away.  And I must admit, I did cheat and use a mix once or twice.  But we all much prefer the homemade ones!

Ingredients:
10 pounds of pickling cukes


5 cups white vinegar

13 cups water

3/4 cup sugar

1 cup pickling salt

fresh dill heads

Wash your cukes well and leave them in a sink of cold water.  Have your jars, lids, and rings hot.  Mix vinegar, sugar, water, and salt and bring to a simmer.  Add one large or two small dill heads to each jar.  Pack the jars with whole small cukes, or sliced large cukes.  Carefully fill the jars with the vinegar mix.  There's a product called pickle crisp that I've used this year, but can't really tell a difference with it.  I rarely put my pickles in a hot water bath because they normally seal themselves.  However, for safety reasons, it is recommended to put the jars in a hot water bath for 15 minutes. 
 
If you want, you can add whole garlic cloves or red peppers to the jars.  I've used this brine mix to pickle eggs, make squash pickles, and even pickled cauliflower!
 
Enjoy!
 
Maverick loves his pickles....
 





Squash pickles, dill pickles, and salsa in the background



Pickled eggs

1 comment:

jeanlivingsimple said...

I may not pickle this year but I will know where to come if I decide to in the future.

Love the photos! Maverick is my favorite.Although those pickled eggs really look yummy.:)