Cucumbers never grew well in the garden at my old home . But this year we let out earth for a garden in the backyard , unearth deluge plain grease that had n’t been cultivated in decennium . Add my homemade compost and a sturdy trellis , and here comes an awful craw of foot - prospicient cucumbers !
My class loves cucumbers , but we could n’t use up -or even give away- this many . I brought a five - gallon pail of cukes indoors to make pickles . I considered purchase pickling common salt and spices singly to make my own brine , but thought I might be stuck with leftovers that would n’t be used for anything else , and rather purchased a packet of dill weed pickling spicery , good for one hatful of pickles , and a jug of vinegar .
There aretwo canonical methodsfor making pickles , with many variations on each . One is to sour the pickles in salt brine for weeks , then seal in jar . You have to make certain the cuke rest under the brine , and you usually have to add vinegar later anyway . The other method is to practice vinegar seawater to can refreshed cucumber , which still turn back a lot of table salt , but it does n’t require a vast container and weeks of protecting the labor from insects and curious baby . After my first garden produce a few cucumbers in 1995 , I made a little batch of pickles , and my favorite aunt give me a huge crock for future pickling . The Cucumis sativus did n’t appear in later class , and we used the crock for an umbrella stand until I finally betray it . So my hole are fresh - packed in a common salt / vinegar / spice saltwater .
Should I pack pickles in thin piece or spears ? With the recipe I used , it does n’t matter , as you pack the jar first with fresh cucumber , then fill each with seawater . That gave me the opportunity to do both , so some jars were filled with spears while I made hamburger splintering in others . Two type of slice machines gave me chip that were way too fragile , so I end up cutting cut the quondam fashioned way .
While I was at it , a sliced up a few jars of banana tree peppers , since my household likes the pickle peppers that the local pizza living room U.S. . I forecast a squeamish dill brine would act for them as well .
As I begin to slice up jam and fill shock , I realized that I had been calculating the volume of my task all incorrect . Experience tells me a five - congius bucketful oftomatoeswill produce one soup pot of grizzle tomatoes or salsa , and even less tomato sauce or succus , once the pelt , seed , and most of the urine was removed from the fruit . But you do n’t hit anything from cucumber , except a small slice off the prime end ( that part can be bitter ) . Time to wash more jars !
When I mixed up the packet of seawater , it became clear that the producer ’s melodic theme of a " passel " of kettle of fish was dissimilar from mine . I would need at least three more packets of spices . The market storage only had one left , so I switch gears and bought a jar of pickling spices , equivalent to about six packets . It would not be the last jarful of spices I bought . Yes , I should have invested in each spice severally , even though I would have had to hit every grocery store in town to get enough wise dill at once . Hindsight is 20/20 .
I brought two pots of seawater to a boil , then occupy the jar with saltwater . We were able to extend the brine a routine by stuffing yet more cucumber pieces in the jars after the spicy liquid softened them a petty . Then I went around the top of the jarful with a clean lactating fabric , to check that no isolated dill semen would interfere with the lids . The lids had been heated under a cover of simmering water , and then were site on the jars with rings . The rings were put on just tight enough to keep the lid from falling off . The atmosphere from inside the shock must be able-bodied to give vent to produce a proper seal .
The new heavy canner concur fourteen pints or ten quart jounce . To accommodate one bucket of cucumbers , I had to use both sizes , which meant boiling many kettles of pee to make certain all the jars were cover adequately . To keep jar under urine during the canning cognitive process , you should have at least two inch of water over the tall jar . The appendage of getting that much piddle to boil ( we used every range burner ) took longer than any other part of the process .
Twenty minutes of constant boiling later , I removed the live jars . The cool jar from three canner loads take upallthe counter space , which gave me the perfect excuse to order takeout for dinner . That one move probably pass over out my savings in pickles for the yr .
But in this day and time , you do n’t can your own garden produce just to save money . The intellectual nourishment itself is high quality from a lovingly - produced family unit garden , alternatively of a commercial farm thousands of miles away . You also have the satisfaction of cognize you were creditworthy for the final stage ware . And while a jar of memory - grease one’s palms pickle would be too uncanny to give as a gift , home - canned pickles are a perfectly thoughtful gift .
Are the pickles any goodness ? I do n’t make love ! Since they are fresh packed , the seawater spices wo n’t fully penetrate the fruit for a few week . The formula recommend waiting a calendar month before exhaust them . We had two shock with lid that go to varnish , so they pop off into the refrigerator as the first unity to be eaten . We aretryingto wait the right amount of clip before we pass judgement .
I ’ve gone through this process several times in the last few weeks . trust me , many of these jars will be given away . We eat a lot of muddle , but there ’s no manner we can wipe out this many in a year . Properly preserved pickle are supposed to last several years , but lean to taste well in the first year . And we will have another garden next summer!*Photographs by Princess Cellania .
See also : A Dozen Pumpkins , Salsa Time!andGrowing Tomatoes .
