Grandmas Mixed Pickles Or End Of The Garden Recipes

Steps:

• Wash cucumbers well. Slice, then discard any slices with blemishes.
• Mix cucumbers, onions, and salt; let stand 2 hours. Drain and rinse off excess salt.
• Combine vinegar, boiling water, mustard seed, celery seed, turmeric and sugar. Bring to a boil, add cucumbers. Cook 5 minutes.
• Pack into hot sterilized jars leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Wipe rim of jar with a damp paper towel. Adjust 2 piece caps. Process in a boiling water bath canner for 15 minutes.
• *Test cucumbers for hollowness: if a cucumber floats in a bucket of water, it's a "hollow" cucumber and is good for relish, not pickling.
• **To avoid a cloudy brine or darkened pickles, do not use common table salt (use only canning salt).

Steps:

• Wash pickles. Place pickles in a clean gallon jar, and fill with cold water. Take out pickles. This way the water is an exact amount! (Grandma never had an accurate measure on the amount of water)
• Add salt to jar, mix well until the salt is dissolved and water clears. Return pickles to jar. Peel and crush garlic. Add garlic to jar with dill and pickling spices.
• Let stand *UNCOVERED* for about 5 days depending on how well done you like them.

Steps:

• Make a brine by dissolving 1/2 cup of salt in 4 cups water in a large container, place the cucumber spears into the brine, and let stand overnight.
• The next day, drain the cucumbers, rinse well with water, and set aside.
• Combine the sugar, vinegar, 1 cup of water, mustard seeds, celery seed, turmeric, and pickling salt in a large nonreactive pot, and bring to a boil. Add the carrot sticks, and boil for 2 minutes, until the carrots are cooked but not mushy. Stir in the pepper slices and cucumbers, and bring back to a boil.
• Sterilize canning jars and lids in boiling water for at least 5 minutes. Pack the pickles into the hot, sterilized jars, filling the jars to within 1/4 inch of the top. Run a knife or a thin spatula around the insides of the jars after they have been filled to remove any air bubbles. Wipe the rims of the jars with a moist paper towel to remove any food residue. Top with lids, and screw on rings. Process in a boiling water bath canner for 15 minutes, remove the jars, and let cool to room temperature.
• Once cool, press the top of each lid with a finger, ensuring that the seal is tight (lid does not move up or down at all). Store in a cool, dark area.

Steps:

• Slice cucumbers about 1/8 inch thick.
• Pour salt over cucumbers.
• Pour enough boiling water over all to cover.
• Stir and let stand 8 hours or overnight.
• Drain and discard brine.
• In a saucepan, combine vinegar, 1 cup sugar, spices and alum.
• Bring to a boil.
• Put cucumbers in a large glass jar or plastic bucket with lid or a stoneware crock.
• Pour boiling vinegar mixture over cucumbers.
• Cover and let stand.
• Next day, and each consecutive day for 5 days total, stir in one additional cup of sugar.
• Do not reheat when sugar is added.
• At the end of the 5th day, pickles are done and may be stored in covered jar.
• Do not seal jars.
• Pickles will keep indefinitely and get better with age.