A note about not needing a pressure cooker. Some people will probably disagree with me because pressure cooking foods for a certain amount of time will kill harmful bacteria etc... However the reason this is okay for pickles is because of the crazy amount of vinegar in them. When we were kids we ate half a jar of pickles before my mom realized that it hadn't sealed and looked cloudy. She called some canning organization and they said it might taste funny but they're safe to eat. So no worries we've been doing it this way for thirty plus years and none of us have ever gotten food poisoning or died of mysterious circumstance ;)
The season for pickles is July-Mid August. As usual this varies for different regions. You can find a good price at a local farm for pickling cucumber's at the height of the season. I haven't paid very close attention, but I don't think I've seen any in my local grocery store. The size of pickling cucumbers range from small to medium. Depending on your preference you can get all small, an assortment or medium. If you get an assortment, about five-six cucumbers will fit in a jar. If you get all medium, like I did, two-three will fit in a jar, if sliced.
A tip before you begin. It is insane what they charge for dill these days! If you know you're going to do pickles, grow your own. The plant grows well in a pot and after it grows to the point of flowering, cut it off leaving about two inches by the soil. It will regrow! To preserve dill just hang upside down and it will dry, then store in a ziploc bag. A warning though, if you hang dill up to dry inside, your house will reek of dill! If you have a basement or a garage I highly recommend hanging it up out there. If you want to do it quicker and have a dehydrator by all means dehydrate it but same warning! So dehydrating it outside is not a bad idea. It couldn't be easier, and a packet of seeds cost about 99 cents! So a good way to save some money.
Best Dill Pickles Ever
Here's what you'll need:- Pickling cucumbers, and yes they're different then normal cucumber's.
- Wide mouth Quart jars
- Wide mouth lids with rings (If you bought new jars with the lids and rings on them, you won't need these)
- Magnetic lid lifter
- Funnel
- Dill
- Garlic
- Apple cider vinegar
- Canning & Pickling Salt (Which you can find at any store that carry's canning goods. I usually just pick mine up at Walmart)
Okay let's begin, like usual the first step is cleaning. I used the cleaning ratio I found here. I soaked the cucumbers for 20-30 minutes. It worked amazing, they were so dirty! After soaking them in this I only had to lightly brush them with a fruit scrubber and all the dirt just fell off. What was left in the sink was disgusting, I'm glad I soaked them.
Next step is poking or slicing your cucumbers. If you are going to pickle your cucumbers whole then you need to poke the cucumber all over with a fork. This is one thing I HATED doing as a kid, I would always poke myself with the fork. Not fun. That's part of the reason why I got big cucumbers so I would just have to slice them. So if you're planning on slicing your cucumber's you don't need to poke them. You can slice your pickles in long slices, hamburger chips, wedges or whatever you want. I did long slices and wedges. I forgot to do hamburger chips for my hubby, he was bummed :(
Poked
Wedged
Sliced
Before you stuff your cucumbers in the jars, you want to peel and slice your garlic; you want one medium clove per jar. Then you want to add your dill. You can put in as much or as little as you want. We put in about two stems, and that seemed like it was plenty. Now that that's done you need to put your cucumbers in. You can pack them in as tight as you want, just make sure that none are sticking out past the first line of the neck. If a pickle is touching the lid, the jar won't seal.
Alright it's time to make your brine. In a large pot mix three cups water with one cup apple cider vinegar and 1/4 cup of canning salt, that will make one batch. Bring your brine to a rapid boil. I made twelve jars of pickles and I used five batches of brine to fill them. That should give you a rough idea of how much you will need.
At the same time fill a frying pan with water and put all of your lids in it. Bring the water to a slight boil and keep the lids in the frying pan. It should just be lightly bubbling.
Now that your lids and brine are boiling it's time to fill your jars. Take your funnel and fill a jar of cucumbers with brine till it reaches the first line of the neck. Neither the brine nor the pickles should pass this line. Quickly take your lid from the frying pan and put it on your jar. We used the magnetic lid lifter to do this; before we had that we just used a fork. Although having the magnetic lid lifter is way easier and you won't burn your fingers either. Twist on your ring so that it's very tight. Set the jar aside. You will start to hear the lids popping, that means they're sealing which is music to a canner's ears. To check if the lids are sealed, after they've cooled, push your finger in the center of the lid, if it pops down and up it hasn't sealed. If it doesn't move then your jar has sealed. And don't worry: I had one jar that didn't seal and I had to throw it away. Even the best of us aren't perfect.
Now for the last, final, and most difficult step: Patience. Pickles aren't made overnight, you need to wait three-four months to enjoy your newly canned pickles. Your cucumbers will turn from a bright green to an olive green in a matter of weeks, this is normal. Store your pickles in a cool dry place, then pop and enjoy! We just opened up our first jar after waiting patiently for five months. My husband said they were the best dill pickles he'd ever eaten and proceeded to eat half of the jar!
Come back next week and I'll share two of my favorite recipe's that I eat with pickles! Thanks for stopping by!
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