Pickles!

Over the weekend I made 9 pints of pickles. On Saturday, I went cucumber picking at one of the three farms that produce our weekly farm share. I hadn't been to that particular farm yet and I took a friend on the adventure. I missed the turn several times and then we wandered around the field for a bit before we found the plants. The cucumbers seemed to be at the end of their season so many of the cucumbers were quite large. I brought them home and sampled one and it was tasty and not tough, as I'd feared.

I made two varieties: dill and bread & butter. I used the recipe in The Vegetarian Epicure: Book 2 for the dill pickles and one from Simply Recipes for the bread and butter pickles. The bread and butter chips wanted to be chilled for a few hours before canning so I prepared them first. I sliced up about 2 1/2 lbs. of cucumbers with 1 lb. of onion and tossed them with 1/4 Kosher salt. I layered ice on top of the mixture, covered it with a towel, and put it in the fridge for about 4 hours. Meanwhile, I made the dill spears. I sliced up the cucumbers, made the brine, and sterilized the jars. I put fresh heads of dill in each of 6 pint jars and then put in the spears. I filled the jars with the hot brine to within 1/2 inch of the rim, sealed them, and put them in a water bath for 20 minutes.

Then I finished the bread and butter chips. I mixed up the brine, put in the chips 'til just boiling, and then filled the jars. First, I filled the jars with the pickles and then I filled the jars with the brine to within 1/2 inch of the top. Finally, I put the jars in a water bath. I can't wait to try them!