Make Bread and Butter Pickles

If dills aren't for you or you'd like a change of pace, try making bread and butter pickles. They are a sweet and sour pickle with a mild taste, and they're easy to make on your own. This recipe makes a large batch, suitable for home canning.

Ingredients

  • 6 quarts pickling cucumbers, thickly sliced
  • 4 cups onions, sliced

First soak

  • brine of 1/2 cup salt to 4 quarts water to cover

Pickling liquid

  • 6 cups vinegar
  • 6 cups sugar
  • 1 teaspoon celery seed
  • 1 tablespoon turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon mustard seed

Steps

  1. Obtain pickling cucumbers. Grow your own, or ask around at produce stands or farmers' markets in late summer. Pickling cucumbers are smaller than most salad cucumbers, perhaps {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} in diameter and {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} long. Plan that 6 to 7 medium pickling cucumbers, or about one pound, sliced, will yield about 3 cups. Thus, for six quarts of sliced cucumbers, you will need about 8 pounds of cucumbers.
  2. Wash the cucumbers thoroughly and slice them thickly, about {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} thick. Do not peel them. Measure the sliced cucumbers until you have about 6 quarts. Cut out any bad spots as you go.
  3. Slice the onions. Leave them in half-rings, or if you prefer, aim for bite-sized lengths.
  4. Prepare brine for the first soak using 1/2 cup of salt for every 4 quarts of water. Cover the cucumber and onion mixture in this brine. Let the mixture soak for three hours.
  5. Sterilize at least a dozen canning jars by boiling them in water for 10 minutes. If you prepare them ahead of time, store them upside-down on a clean towel, covered by another clean towel.
  6. Drain the salt water out of the onion and cucumber mixture and discard it.
  7. Prepare the pickling liquid. Bring the vinegar, sugar, and spices to a boil in a large saucepan or pot. Then, add the drained vegetables to the mixture and bring the combination to a boil.
  8. Prepare the seals. Boil about an inch of water in the bottom of a wide saucepan. Remove the saucepan from heat and place the jar lids individually into the water. Let them sit for a minute or two. Do this immediately prior to use.
  9. Pack the cucumbers and onions into the sterilized jars. Leave {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} of head space (space between the top of the food and the jar rim). Pour the hot pickling liquid over the vegetables, leaving {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} of head space. Stir the pickling liquid as you go to keep the spices mixed in.
  10. Remove any air bubbles from within the jar using a knife (ideally a long, slender plastic one, to avoid harming the food or the jar).
  11. Wipe the jar rim with a damp, clean cloth to remove any residue. Use a lid wand to lift the seals out of the hot water. Center the seal on the rim of the jar. Screw on the ring so that it is snug but do not over-tighten. (The idea is to contact the wax sealing surface firmly without displacing it altogether.)
  12. Place the filled jars in a water-bath canner or a large stock pot, using a rack to prevent direct contact between the bottom of the pot and the jars. Fill the canner with hot water until the tops of the jars are at least an inch below the surface of the water.
  13. Bring the canner full of water and jars to a boil and boil for 15 minutes, adding more time if you are at high altitude.
  14. Remove the jars from the boiling water and place them on an old towel in a sheltered area to cool overnight. The next day, check the seals by pressing down in the center. The seal should not move up and down or make noise when pressed.
  15. Notice that if the jars are sticky, wait until they have cooled completely, at least 24 hours. Clean the sealed jars with dish soap in room-temperature water and label them with the contents and the date. Allow the jars to dry thoroughly before storing them.



Tips

  • Allow the jars to stand for four to six weeks before eating the pickles. The flavors will have a chance to blend and sink in.

Warnings

  • Never eat home-canned food if the seal has broken or if it smells or looks bad (discolored, moldy). Discard it immediately.
  • Placing hot glass in cold water and vice versa could stress the glass and cause it to shatter. These pickles are hot packed, so use hot water in your water bath canner.

Things You'll Need

  • Canning jars of an appropriate volume
  • Canning jar rings and seals
  • Water bath canner or large pot
  • Large bowl or pot
  • Jar tongs
  • Canning funnel
  • Bubble-freeing knife (available with canning supplies)
  • Lid wand
  • Old towels
  • Apron
  • Cutting board and knife

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