center street pickles

Can we all just agree to stop being afraid/timid/baffled by canning, PLEASE@#%$!!!

It really is not hard! In the not too distant past, canning, putting up food, preserving during harvest time was considered common in many households, and I'm happy to find myself in the kitchen doing the same, even if it IS 97 degrees out and even hotter in my kitchen...

I've recommended  Put 'em Up by Sherri Brooks Vinton in the past, and I'm doin' it again...

center street pickles adapted from this book

5 lbs cucumbers, cut into pint-jar-size spears (see note about size below)***
1/2 c canning salt (non iodized and without the anti-caking ingredient)
2 c ice cubes
4 c distilled white vinegar
2 c water
garlic cloves, approx 20
4 T dill seed, plus dried fronds if you have them
2 tsp peppercorns
2 tsp mustard seeds, black and yellow
1 c sliced onion
(and any other addition you want to put in there...)

wash and slice cucumbers (fewer seeds are better), lay on tray, sprinkle generously with (normal, not the canning ) salt, toss into bowl, cover with ice cubes and put in fridge or cool basement for 2 hours.

bring canning salt, vinegar and water to boil, stir and remove from heat. cool.

after 2 hours, rinse cucumbers and pack into sterilized jars. distribute other accompaniments in there, i.e. garlic, dill, peppercorns, mustard seeds, onion....whatever you like. 

***note pour cooled brine over spears to cover by 1/2 inch. Leave 1/2 inch of head space between the top of liquid and lid. (So, you should have about 1 inch of room between the top of the cucumber and the lid rim).

process for 10 min. adjust for elevation if needed.