Recipe(tried): Dill Pickles -- Short Method and Kosher Style

Here goes Kim. These are the basic recipes out of the Ball Blue Book. Unfortunately, we usually "do our own thing" and add a little more vinegar, sugar, pickling mix, etc., and then throw in some sliced (or whole) jalapeno peppers, Anaheim peppers, sliced carrots, etc. But these basic recipes are a good place to start, and you can tailor what you use to your family's tastes.

DILL PICKLES (Short Method)

8 pounds 4 to 6-inch cucumbers, sliced lengthwise
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup canning salt
1 quart vinegar
1 quart water
3 tablespoons mixed pickling spices
Fresh Green or dry dill (1 head per jar)

Combine sugar, salt, vinegar and water in a large sauce pot. Tie spices in a cheesecloth bag; add to vinegar mixture; simmer 15 minutes (we sometimes let it go a little longer for a stronger taste from pickling spices). Pack cucumbers into hot (sterilized in boiling water) jars, leaving 1/4-inch head space; put a head of dill into each jar. Bring vinegar and water to a boil. Pour hot liquid over cucumbers, leaving 1/4-inch head space. Adjust caps. Process pints and quarts 15 minutes in boiling water bath (we processed these a little shorter time because we've found 15 minutes tends to overcook whole pickes, and these are sliced). Yield: about 7 pints

DILL PICKLES (Kosher Style)

Follow recipe for dill pickles - short method. When pakcing cucumbers, add to each jar:

1 bay leaf
1 clove garlic (we used A LOT more -- bought a 3 pound jar of pre-peeled at Sam's)
1 piece hot red pepper (again, we used a lot more jalapeno slices)
1/2 teaspoon mustard seed

Process as recommended.

NOTE: When cutting or seeding hot peppers, wear ubber gloves to prevent hands from burning.

We also add some black peppercorns, dill seed, crushed red pepper flakes, and some whole cloves to each jar. As I said, you kind of have to tailor the spices, heat (from peppers), etc., to your own tastes.

The Ball Blue Book recommends allowing the processed jars 4 to 5 weeks for the pickles to cure and develop their flavors.

You could also make dill chips by slicing the cukes in rounds instead of lengthwise, and, of course, you can do whole pickles. We've been pickling every year for the past 4 or 5 years and really enjoy it. It's a lot of work, and it's easier if you have 2 people working at it. We bought a 25 pound box of pickling cukes -- smalls to mediums -- this year, and used all but about 5 or 6 pounds. We put up 26 jars of various sizes.

I usually buy the pickling spices in bulk from Fred Meyer (in WA State), but this year they were out when I went to get more. Next year I plan on ordering my pickling spices -- and other spices -- from Penzey's. You can request a catalog from their website @ www.penzeys.com -- the catalog is a wonderful reference guide, as well as providing some tasty-sounding recipes.

Happy pickling!! Good Luck.

;0) laa