Recipe(tried): Russian Dill Pickles

Found this recipe in an old church cookbook. Someone on this board suggested adding a few grape leaves to each jar to ensure crisp pickles; the alum helps, but I plan to try a few jars with grape leaves this summer.

Russian Dill Pickles

Wash medium cucumbers and pack in a jar. Add a small piece of horseradish, a large bunch of dill, and a few sliced onions. Boil 1/2 cup salt, 1/2 gallon vinegar (use half water so vinegar will not be too strong), 2 cups sugar, 1/2 dozen allspice, 1/2 dozen cloves, 2 T. mustard seed and a few bay leaves. Cool. Pour over pickles and seal.

(I processed in a boiling water bath.)

This recipe can be interpreted two ways on the vinegar-water amounts. I know it means 50-50 vinegar and water, but the brine is stronger or weaker depending on the interpretation. I tried 1/2 gallon vinegar and 1/2 gallon water and liked that better than 1/4 gallon vinegar and 1/4 gallon water. Let me know if you try this and how you like it. I really liked the pickles.