Love in the Kitchen - making fast, healthy, homegrown meals you'll enjoy

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Summer of Canning: Quick Dill Pickles

Canned cucumbers are pickles.  I think that sounds odd, but turns out that it does taste good.

We made  pickles today - 6 quarts!  With these beautiful cucumbers.




Quick Dill Pickles

Ingredients:

  • 3 pounds pickling cucumbers
  • 2 cups cider vinegar (5% acidity)
  • Fresh dill
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 8 teaspoons pickling spice


Directions:

Prepare for water-bath canning:  wash the jars and keep them hot in the canning pot, and put the flat lids in a heatproof bowl.

Cut off the blossom end of each cucumber and cut into spears.



In a nonreactive pot, combine the vinegar, 1 cup water, and salt and bring just to a boil, stirring to dissolve the salt.




Ladle the boiling water from the canning pot into the bowl with the lids.  Using a jar lifter, remove the hot jars from the canning pot, carefully pouring the water from each one back into the pot, and place them upright on a folded towel.  Drain the water off the jar lids.

Working quickly, put a few dill sprigs into each jar and divide the garlic and spices among the jars.  Pack the cucumbers as tightly as you can without damaging them.  Ladle the hot vinegar moisture onto the jars, leaving 1/2 inch head space.  Use a chopstick to remove air bubbles around the inside of each jar.

 Use a damp paper towel to wipe the rims of the jars, then put a flat lid and ring on each jar, adjusting the ring so that it is finger-tight.  Return the jars to the water in the canning pot, making sure the water covers the jars by at least 1 inch.  Bring to a boil, and boil for 10 minutes to process.    Remove the jars to a folded towel, and do not disturb for 12 hours.



After 1 hour, check that the lids have sealed by pressing down on the center of each;  if it can be pushed down, it hasn't sealed and the jar should be refrigerated immediately.

Dill pickles are almost the definition of canning to me.  I don't think my mom ever made them, but I know Grandma did.  And now I have.  That feels good.


Zentmrs
Pin It

5 comments:

  1. Congratulations on your pickles! They look yummy!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I just made a new batch of pickles too ( and also just blogged about it haha) They are the best in the summer

    ReplyDelete
  3. Your pickles look good! Thanks for sharing on Foodie Friends Friday! Come back on Sunday to VOTE!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Looking forward to trying your recipe out on some of my gazillion cucumbers from the garden. Thanks for sharing at Foodie Friends Friday! :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. These sound so good...my husband loves pickles, so I will give these a try! I am a new follower on GFC. Patsy

    ReplyDelete