Ingredients:
- 5 1/2 cups Pickling cucumbers
- 1 large onion
- mustard seed
- celery seed
- turmeric
- whole allspice
- sugar
- vinegar
Directions: Many recipes call for this salt and icing process, some don’t. You can skip this if you prefer, though it supposedly improves crispness.
Clean cucumbers.
Chop into chunky or thin slices, along with a finely or coarsely chopped large onion.
Place together in a large bowl, add 1/4 C kosher or pickling salt and mix together. Place a lightweight kitchen towel over the cucumbers and onions, and then cover with 2″ of ice.
Place in the refrigerator for 2 – 6 hours.
Remove from the fridge, rinse thoroughly, and then rinse again. Place cucumbers and onion in quart jars or one large crock.
While cukes are in the fridge, make the brine in a large, non-reactive pot.
Mix:
- 1 1/2 cups white distilled vinegar
- 1 1/4 cups apple cider vinegar,
- 2 1/2 cups brown (or white if you prefer) sugar (or to taste, I used 1 3/4 C),
- 1 tbsp mustard seeds,
- 1 tsp celery seeds,
- 1/2 tsp t turmeric,
Heat to simmer, stirring until sugar dissolves. While piping hot, pour the brine over the rinsed cucumbers, cover and refrigerate.
They’re ready to eat in a few hours and will last in the fridge for a month, maybe more.
Or, these can be processed in a hot water bath and then stored in the pantry for up to a year.
Table 1. Recommended process time for Bread-and-Butter Pickles in a boiling-water canner.
Process Time at Altitudes of
Style of Pack
Jar Size
0 – 1,000 ft
1,001 – 6,000 ft
Above 6,000 ft
Hot
Pints or Quarts
10 min
15
20
