Wish me luck - Canning pickles

Originally Posted by odiakkoh

That is brilliant. I like the way you think lol

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Thanks! They are more "dill pickle chips". I doubt my method would pickle full dills very well, which is why I slice them up.

But they are yummy. I've had a batch going for about a week, maybe a bit less. And they already taste pickled. But before I actually go ahead and eat them I'm going to leave them for another week so they get that really sour pickle taste infused.

You can even do the same thing with the beet juice from pickled beets. Simply par cook (very slightly) some beet slices, and then add them to the beet pickle juice and leave them to pickle for a couple weeks in your fridge.

I've made "lazy man's pickles" too, and they can be delicious. I've also made refrigerator pickles, which don't need to be sealed into jars.

Thanks, Feralvr! I love trying new things when it comes to cooking! I was so excited (and scared!) to try these. I love feeding people.

If anybody is interested, here's the recipe for Bread and Butter Pickles that I used. This is really old; Mom and Grandma made these decades ago.

Bread and Butter Pickles

8 cups cucumber slices (slice them very thinly)
2 cups onion slices (slice them very thinly)
1 tablespoon salt
1 gallon cold water

Syrup:
2 cups vinegar (white vinegar, according to Mom)
3 cups sugar
2 teaspoons celery seed
2 teaspoons turmeric (go easy on the turmeric, if you don't care for the taste; you can easily use 1 teaspoon, if you'd like)
3-inch cinnamon stick
2 green peppers, finely chopped (Mom used 4, but I think 2 are plenty)

Let pickles and onions stand in 1 gallon of water mixed with 1 tablespoon of salt for one hour. Drain thoroughly.

Combine Syrup ingredients. Bring to a boil and add the well-drained cucumber slices. Bring back to boil. Cook 20 minutes. While hot, place into sterilized pint jars and seal. This will make between 3 and 4 pints, depending on how full your jars are.

My notes: The wooden spoon that I used to stir the pickles in the syrup is now yellow from the turmeric. So is the large plastic spoon I used to spoon the pickles into the jars. Just thought you might want to know that.

You want to make sure that the pickle juice completely covers the pickles in the jars. I didn't know that until last night, after Mom called me to make sure I did it right. I told her that some of my pickles weren't completely covered. She said it was OK, but to try to cover them the next time. The jars sealed fine.

I microwaved water in a 10-cup measuring cup to a good, rolling boil, then I brought the water out of the microwave and set it on the counter. Then I added my clean canning jar lids and bands to the boiling water. My jars were washed in the dishwasher, using the sanitize feature.


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And here's my next pickling adventure. Mom asked me to make some Lime Pickles. I have her recipe and when I get a lot of cukes again, I'm going to try them. They're more involved than the bread and butter pickles. They are a gorgeous green from the food coloring and they are really good!

Lime Pickles\t\t\t\t\t

12 pounds pickles, pared and sliced

Hot Syrup:
1 Tbsp. salt\t\t\t
1 large tsp. allspice
5 pounds granulated sugar\t\t\t
1 Tbsp. celery seed
2 pints vinegar\t\t\t
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 pint water\t\t\t
1 Tbsp. green food coloring
1 Tbsp. whole cloves OR 1 large tsp. ground cloves

Put pickles in crock. Mix 2 cups white lime with water to cover pickles. Let stand 24 hours. Drain pickles thoroughly. Place pickles in clear water and let stand one full day, changing the water to remove all lime from pickles. Drain thoroughly. Add the Hot Syrup to the pickles. Let stand 24 hours. Cook one hour in the Syrup. Pack in jars and seal.

Originally Posted by MargeCat

Last week, I canned peaches (hot water bath), and, for the first time, a jar bottom broke off in the canner. I threw it out, checked the other jars, and they are fine. (Tip: if you make too much sugar syrup for fruit while canning, strain some out, and use 1-2 TBL in iced tea or iced water--like a syrup, or over ice cream. I did this with the peach syrup. Yumm!!)

As Acme has a good bell pepper sale this week, I was going to can pepper relish today, but conveniently forgot (it's hot as Hades here--over 100 F, and I just didn't want to leave the a/c!).

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My sister used to can spiced peaches, but she gave it up several years ago. My MIL is giving me her canning supplies and, while I'm not ready for peaches yet, I might try canning some tomatoes and (maybe) some chili sauce. My aunt had given me her recipe for chili sauce, which uses lots of tomatoes, peaches, pears, apples, and peppers...sounds interesting to me.

Years and years ago, I tried a recipe for ketchup, just to see what it was like. It was really good, but tasted nothing like DH's Heinz.

I never thought of using excess sugar syrup for iced tea! Yum! DH would just love that as he likes his tea sweet.

There's a recipe for a zucchini relish that I want to try. You can use the relish over hot dogs, brats, burgers, etc. I need to get to the market, though, to buy some green peppers. Our pepper plants are producing, but the peppers aren't real big. 3 of my little peppers would make one big one that I'd find at the market.

I remember my mom used to make Virginia sweet pickles every year. They sat in a brine with different spices for several days before she canned them. My parents always had sweet pickles rather than the dills so thats what I have always preferred because thats what I grew up with.

My SO and I did peaches, pears, several kinds of jam, beets and I did mustard pickles last year. We'll do more beets for sure since my friends love them and hint at getting some more. The mustard pickles are from my childhood memories and delicious.

Sounds like you are well on your way to becoming the new Martha!

Ooooh I love canning. Especially around January when anything even resembling produce costs an arm and a leg.

We do fruits, jams, relish and pickles here (I love pickles too). DH wants to try beets this year...
I'm glad you're enjoying your canning!

WOW you really did great and I love the and thanks for the recipes. Maybe, someday , I will try those recipes!!! Great job!!! I think I will go and have a pickle

Originally Posted by aprilyim

I'm from NY so the only place that has them is Hooter's! They serve them with chipotle mayo! Imagine a young Asian-looking woman going to Hooter's to eat fried pickles.

I get laughed at all the time but it's all in good fun.

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Asian-looking woman going for Mexican pickles!

My mother was a great canner, having grown up on the farm in Michigan. She made all sorts of vegetables and fruits and jams and jellies. One of her specialties was applesauce, to which she added some "red-hot" red candies.

I've never made pickles and I toyed with the idea of canning peaches, but instead I froze them!

I've made jam - raspberry, strawberry and boysenberry. I use the pink box of Sure-Jell and follow the recipe inside. It is delicious! I print some labels and then use it as hostess gifts or for Christmas or whenever I need a little something gift! Everyone loves it! It is less sweet and fruitier tasting than store bought.

I'm so glad you're going to try the lime pickles!They are actually my favorite of all!Be careful using the ground spices though...it can make your pickles quite dark.In case you like dill pickles...like the claussen brand that are so crunchy,you can do dill pickles with the lime and they are wonderful!Soak your spears in the lime water and rinse as the directions say.I always added a clove or 2 of garlic to mine...I have used both dill seed and fresh dill flower heads and they turned out great.I always water bathed the pickles I made,but I usually did so many to have for the year,I wanted to make sure they stayed safe.I always made a few jars of the sweet spiced peaches...they are so wonderful at Thanksgiving with your turkey and even with ham at Christmas.Here's a thought for you also.If you have a ton of tomatoes,you can "sweet lime pickle" your green tomatoes as well.I usually used the roma tomatoes,but it doesn't really matter,as long as they are green.Slice and soak in the lime water,and use your sweet pickle recipe.They are wonderful,crunchy and sweet!I have a friend that makes pickles,jams and jellies and sells them.That is their business.She takes the older cukes that are huge and start to turn yellow and makes what she calls cinnamon cucumber rings.I have made them,and they're also great,but it's a long process and you have to like cinnamon.Let me know if you'd like the recipe.

Originally Posted by mrblanche

Asian-looking woman going for Mexican pickles!

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Actually, I think it's because it's Hooter's and I'm not a guy trying to hit on the ladies who work there.

Lizzie, I would love to have your recipe for the cinnamon pickles! Please! And you're saying that I can made lime pickles without the spices and they'll still be good or do I just cut back on the spices? And I did not know that I could lime pickle my green tomatoes....I may have to try that. Thanks so much! And please post your recipe; I'd really love to have it.

Originally Posted by mrblanche

My mother was a great canner, having grown up on the farm in Michigan. She made all sorts of vegetables and fruits and jams and jellies. One of her specialties was applesauce, to which she added some "red-hot" red candies.

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I've never canned applesauce (well, I've never canned anything until now), but DH and I have made and have frozen quarts upon quarts of applesauce. He is a true applesauce hound and it seems we can never make enough....he always runs out around the end of August or so. We make both smooth applesauce and chunky. And we're to point now where it's largely unsweetened because the apples we use seem to be sweet enough. We usually use Mutsu apples for applesauce.

While neither DH or me is a big jams or jellies fan to spread on bread and toast, I do enjoy trying jams in recipes for glazing when roasting or grilling meats and poultry. And I use jams as cookie fillings. I'm thinking about trying some kind of preserves (maybe peach? or pineapple?), simply to have on hand for grilling. My sister made her own preserves for a few years before she stopped, so I'm sure she'd be willing to help me.

I just meant that when canning or pickling,it's best to use the whole spices instead of the ground.In several of my cookbooks,it states that the ground spices can make your pickles dark...eeww!Some people that use the whole spices put them in a cheesecloth pouch and flavor the syrup as opposed to leaving them whole in the syrup.I always left them whole myself.I had never thought of the green tomato lime pickles either,but these friends of mine did it and they are awesome,crunchy and sweet.If you have an abundance of tomatoes,it's a good way to use them.Okay....here's the cinnamon cucumber ring recipe.First to prep your cukes,use the big,older ones that can be starting to turn yellow.Peel,and cut in half crossways.With a knife,core out the seeds,leaving you a cylinder.Slice the cukes in half inch slices...can be a little less than that.This recipe calls for 2 gallons of cucumber rings,and will make approx. 6 quarts.

2 gals. cucumber rings 1 bottle red food coloring
2 cups lime 2 cups white vinegar
8 1/2 qts. water 1 package cinnamon red hots (14 or 20
1 cup vinegar oz...either is okay)
1 tsp. alum 8 cinnamon sticks
10 cups sugar

Mix water and lime and pour over cukes.I used a 5 gallon plastic bucket.Let stand 24 hours.Drain and wah well,then soak 3 hours in cold water.Drain and pour over the 1 cup vinegar,alum and food coloring with enough water to cover.Put into a large canning pot ( like a water bath canner) and simmer for 2 hours....then drain.Mix the white vinegar,red hots,sugar and stick cinnamon together.Boil a few minutes to dissolve the sugar and pour over the rings.This is when I put them back in the plastic bucket.Cover and let sit overnight.Drain the juice into the canner,reheat and pour over the rings again,and do this 2 more days.On the third day,bring the rings and syrup to a boil,put in jars and process.You can use either pints or quarts,and I always water bath canned mine.15 minutes for pints and 30 minutes for quarts.These are a bright red,sweet and cinnamon-y and crunchy pickle.Like I said,you have to like cinnamon!
If you did not want to do these in the rings,after you core out the seeds you could slice them into 1/2 inch sticks.It would work the same.Enjoy!

Thank you, lizzie....that's certainly on my list to try! And it doesn't seem difficult at all.

I have to get alum as I need it for the lime pickles, too.

Thanks much!

You're very welcome!I have to tell you...that pineapple zucchini bread is a hit at my house and in my neighborhood.I made it and passed it on to my neighbors with a huge garden....she made it and her kids even liked it!I gave her the garden chowder recipe too.I made that today to stick in the fridge for dinner tomorrow night,and I have to tell you....it's wonderful!I split the recipe,actually,since there's 2 of us.One I made your way and the other I made using clam broth instead of chicken and added a couple of cans of clams.If you like homemade clam chowder,it's wonderful.I did leave out the cheese for the clam chowder tho.I love to experiment,so thanks again for the ideas!

Lime Pickles are finished and all six jars have "plinked" so I know they're sealed. I have about half a jar that I didn't want to bother trying to seal, so they're in the fridge. And they are good; I tried some!

I have to learn how to fill my jars more productively. I was afraid I'd overfill them, so I erred on the side of caution.

Next on my agenda is Lizzie's Cinnamon Pickles. Hopefully this weekend we'll have more cucumbers ready to be picked. Although I'm rather looking at the Mustard Pickles, too, that Yosemite posted about. I think it's awesome that you canned all that produce last year. Who would have thought that I might not have enough cucumbers to do everything I want to do??

And April? I'm very intrigued now by your fried pickles!



And here is a picture of the Zucchini Salsa I made a couple weeks ago...this is seriously good stuff!

Go to WalMart or wherever carries canning supplies and get you 2 things....a plastic funnel that will sit down on the top of your jar...and a good sized ladle.Put your pickles in the jar...I do mine one at a time....and then ladle the hot syrup into the jar via the funnel.You can take a kitchen knife (they make things to do this with but why????)and kinda nudge the pickles to get the jar filled,and it should be filled no more than a half inch from the top.Then you take out the funnel,put your hot flat on,screw on the band and go on to the next jar.See?Easy!

Originally Posted by Winchester

And April? I'm very intrigued now by your fried pickles!

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You can find the recipe here!

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/fried-pickles/detail.aspx

Let me know how it goes!

P.S. I love how you labeled all your jars so neatly and that salsa looks delightful!