Recipe: Dill Green Cherry Tomato Pickles

If there is anything you don't understand about this recipe, e-mail me and I'll try to help. There are a number of sites where you can get help.
Home Canning Online: http://www.home-canning.com/
Home Canning Tips: http://www.home-canning.com/bernardine/tips.html

DILL GREEN CHERRY TOMATO PICKLES

Small green firm tomatoes
6 cloves garlic, peeled
6 stalks celery, cut in 2-inch pieces
6 green bell peppers, quartered
2 quarts water
1 quart distilled white vinegar
1 cup salt
Fresh dill to taste
Hot peppers to taste

1. Wash tomatoes and pack in
sterilized jars.
2. Add to each jar l clove of garlic,
1 stalk of celery and 1 green pepper
quarter.
3. Make brine of the water, vine-
gar and salt. Boil the dill for 5
minutes.
4. Pour the hot brine over the
pickles in the jar. Seal. Process in
hot water bath for 5 minutes.
5. These will be ready for use in
4 to 6 weeks. (Makes 6 quarts)

Pickles - Processing in Boiling Water Canner

While Grandmother might not have heat processed her homemade pickles, food scientists today recommend processing pickles in a boiling water canner for food safety. It is best to use a recent recipe to ensure the proper combination of vinegar and vegetables as well as jar size and heat processing time. Heat processing kills microogranisms that cause mold growth and creates a durable airtight seal to prevent further contamination.

Pickle Crispness

Processing pickles will not cause them to become less crisp. The correct balance of ingredients in the pickling liquid together with use of top quality fruits and vegetables in well-tested recipes are the major factors in creating crisp pickles. For best results, pickle fruits and vegetables within 24 hours of harvest.

Substitute for Fresh Dill

If fresh heads of dill is unavailable when you're embarking on a pickling project use 1 tsp (5 mL) dill seed in place of each head fresh dill in your recipe.

Recipes -- Precision Yields Perfection

Follow pickle recipes exactly. Do not alter amounts of vinegar or vegetables in recipes. Failure to do so can lead to food spoilage. If a less sour pickle is desired, add more sugar rather than decrease the vinegar.

Preventing Discoloration

Preventing discoloration in fruits such as peaches and pears begins with the use of high quality produce, free of bruises. Second, minimize the fruits'exposure to air and time between washing and preserving food. Immerse peeled, halved, quartered, sliced or diced fruit in a solution of 4 tbsp (60 mL) FRUIT FRESH Color Protector dissolved in 8 cups (2 L) water.

Fruit, Vegetables -- Precooking

Precooking fruit or vegetables before packing into jars will decrease undesirable discoloration and prevent floating fruit. This technique is called hot packing.

Salt for Home Canning

Always use pickling salt in home canned recipes, especially for pickles. Pickling or coarse salt does not contain iodine or anti-caking additives. Iodine, which is present in table salt, can cause pickles to darken. Anti-caking ingredients can cause cloudy pickling solutions.

Pickles -- Blossom Ends on Cucumbers

Cut off and discard the blossom ends from vegetables such as pickling cucumbers. These ends contain enzymes which can cause soft pickles.

Follow the Steps for Top Quality

Following home canning steps closely is essential for top quality preserves. Taking short cuts usually leads to inferior products and can cause food spoilage.

Acidity of Vinegar

For pickles, use vinegar of at least 5 percent acidity. Do not use homemade vinegar or vinegar of unknown acidity for pickling. Do not dilute the vinegar unless the recipe specifies as it may dilute the preservative effect. If a less sour product is preferred, add sugar rather than decrease vinegar.

Vinegar

White distilled vinegar guarantees clearness of color, however commercial cider and malt vinegar (with a 5 % acidity) can be used in home canned recipes. Cider and malt vinegars have a distinctive flavor and aroma. They may, however, darken white or light colored fruits and vegetables.

Root Vegetables

Root vegetables like carrots and beets tend to be very dense and sometimes are woody or fibrous. They require considerable time to heat uniformly. This is why processing times for these vegetables, even when pickled, are longer than other products.

Beets

Pack small (1-2 inch / 2.5 - 5 cm) beets whole. Large beets are often tough and fibrous. They should be sliced or quartered. to reduce color bleeding, cook beets whole with roots and 1 inch of stem attached.

Head Space -- Overfilling

The amount of space to leave at the top of the jar is determined by the type of food being canned and the jar size. When jars are overfilled, the contents may boil out during processing causing solids or seeds to be caught under the sealing compound and preventing an airtight seal from forming.

Head Space -- Underfilling

The amount of space to leave at the top of the jar is determined by the type of food being canned and the jar size. When too much head space is left at the top of the jar, processing time may not be long enough to drive out all the extra air, thus preventing an airtight seal. Excess air inside the jar also causes food discoloration.

Waxed Cucumbers

Unless they will be peeled, do not use waxed cucumbers for pickles or relishes. Wax is applied to cucumbers to prevent moisture loss and add a glossy shine. In recipes, this wax coating keeps the pickling liquid from penetrating to the center of the cucumbers.

Soft Water

Soft water is best for pickling. Minerals in hard water can darken and soften pickles. To soften hard water, boil it for 15 minutes, then let stand covered for 24 hours. Skim off surface scum, if necessary. Carefully pour or ladle water from container without disturbing the sediment on the bottom. Distilled water, although expensive, may also be used.

Fermentation Containers

Fermented pickles and sauerkraut require 3 to 6 weeks standing time in a crock or food-grade plastic container. Wine-making shops are a great place to purchase suitable large containers for this fermentation.

Altitude Adjustments for heat Processing Times

Processing times in most home canning recipes are those required at altitudes up to 1,000 ft (305 m). At higher altitudes the processing time must be adjusted. An increase in time is necessary for processing in a boiling water canner. Pressure canning at higher altitudes requires adjustments to the amount of pressure, not time.

Storage of Home Canned Products

Home canned goods keep best when stored in a dark, dry, cool area. Exposure to light can cause preserves to darken. High temperatures can also affect quality and lead to spoilage. Storage in a dry area protects against corrosion of lids.

Aging for Flavor

Most pickles and relishes need 2 to 3 weeks standing time in their sealed jars to develop optimum flavor. This standing time allows the seasonings to blend with the fruits and vegetables producing a mellow, well-rounded flavor. To accent pickle and relish flavors and enhance their crispness, chill before serving.

Canners -- Cleaning

When used frequently, boiling water canners can accumulate a hard water scale. To remove this scale, soak canner in a solution of 1 cup (250 mL) vinegar to 16 cups (4 L) of water for several hours.

Pickling Utensils

Use stainless steel, glass or enamel bowls or saucepans for soaking pickles or heating pickling liquids. Containers or utensils made from copper, iron, zinc or brass may react with acid and salt causing undesirable flavor and color changes in fruits or vegetables.

Brining Pickles

Vegetables used in pickles and relishes are often placed in a salt-water brine or tossed with salt and allowed to stand for 1 to 24 hours. This step draws moisture from the vegetables to enhance the crispness of the resulting product.

Cooling Jars

After processing, allow jars remove jars from canner and allow to stand undisturbed for 24 hours. Do not invert jars. Inverting jars places the weight of the food against the lid putting pressure on the sealing compound which is not yet fully set. This weight may prevent or break the airtight.

Tomato-Vegetables Combinations

Be sure to follow recipes EXACTLY for tomato-vegetable combinations that are processed in a boiling water canner. Such recipes require a specific acid balance provided by the quantities of ingredients. Altering the ingredients could make these products unsafe!

Alum

Many older pickling recipes used an ingredient called alum. Alum is not recommended today because it can impart a bitter flavor to pickles and it has been sited as a potential cause of digestive upsets.

Storage -- Refrigerated

After opening or breaking the seal of a jar of home canned food, discard the lid and replaced it with a Plastic Storage Lid.available in sizes to fit all standard Mason jars, these handy lids also are ideal for freezer jams. They turn Mason jars into handy storage containers for refrigerated and shelf-stable foods as well as crafts and other odds and ends.