Canning Dill Pickles

It's hard to believe that August is coming to a close. The shorter days are definitely more noticeable and shutting the windows at night has become routine. This week has been very busy with preserving food from the garden. At this time of year when daily pickings are a must, and there is only so much food that can be eaten when fresh - especially when there are only two of us in the household now, excess produce must either be given away or preserved. The three main ways of preserving are freezing, canning or drying. I typically freeze berries, green beans, and sometimes hot peppers. I would love some day to get a dehydrator, but until I do, I only dry herbs. This leaves canning, which I have to admit is not one of my favorite past-times. It takes a lot of convincing to myself to get out and clean all the utensils, knowing the work ahead. However, once all the preparation has been done, it is very satisfying to see the results and know that we will be able to appreciate the garden long into winter. This week I spent three nights canning pickles, salsa and chutney. This post is devoted to pickles. I will describe my salsa and chutney recipes in a later post.

If you don't have a lot of time, but have an abundance of fresh cucumbers, making pickles can be a relatively simple process. As a child I remember cucumbers sitting in a crock in our kitchen for weeks as my father made polish dill pickles. This method, always yielded delicious results, but it involved some special equipment and was time consuming, taking five to six weeks. I have never tried it. I instead opt for making refrigerator and/or quick process pickles. Pure refrigerator pickles are the easiest to make and are a good option if you don't have much time and plan on eating your pickles quickly. If you want to store your pickles longer than a couple months, then you can quick process them in a boiling water canner. I made both types this week. It is easy to find recipes for refrigerator pickles on the internet and although the ingredients are very similar, I found the ratios differed as well as the curing times (a day to 2 weeks), and the stated maximum storage length (2 weeks to 3 months.) It is a matter of personal preference as to how long you want the pickles to cure before eating; and, as far as storage, I recommend not making more than you can eat or give away within a couple months. If you chose to process in a boiling water canner, the pickles can be stored for up to a year.

Refrigerator Pickles (5 pints)

Fresh cucumbers (about 5 pounds)

2 cups white vinegar

2 cups water

6 tablespoons canning salt

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons pickling spice

several sprigs of fresh dill

2 teaspoons mustard seed

1 teaspoon peppercorns

In a saucepan combine the vinegar, water, salt, sugar and pickling spice. Bring to a boil and simmer for ten minutes. Slice the cucumbers lengthwise into spears. Divide remaining spices equally and add to sterilized jars. Pack jars tightly with cucumbers, leaving at least 1/2 inch space at the top of each jar. Poor hot liquid into jars, completely covering cucumbers. Apply lids and refrigerate.  Note: some recipes recommend soaking the pickles first in cold water.

Fresh Refrigerator Pickles

I read on the internet that for longer storage time, these pickles can be processed in a boiling water canner for 5 minutes. I instead chose a dill pickle recipe from the tried and true Ball Blue Book.  

Dill Pickles (3 quarts) 

8 pounds cucumbers washed and sliced lengthwise

3/4 cup sugar 

1/2 cup canning salt

1 quart vinegar

1 quart water

3 tablespoons mixed pickling spices

3 heads of fresh or dried dill

Combine sugar, salt, vinegar and water in pot. Tie pickling spices in cheescloth and add to mixture. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Pack cucumbers into hot sterilized jars. Add one head dill. Pour hot liquid over cucumbers, leaving 1/4 inch head space, remove air bubbles by pushing a knife down into the liquid. Process 15 minutes in a boiling water canner.

The recipes above can be adjusted based upon the quantity of cucumbers that you will be pickling. And, always use pickles that are freshly picked and firm. 

Hot Processed Dill Pickles