Grandma's Pickle Power

As I stated in my blog about summer squash pickles http://lifeonsamplesfarm.blogspot.com/2013/08/squash-pickles-my-new-favorite-sweet.html,  my love affair with the dill, salty, crunchy pickle has been with me since I was a wee bit of a girl sitting on the stool in my Grandmother's kitchen as she chopped and prepared the mountain of cucumbers to be transformed into an exquisite side dish.

My Grandmother wasn't one to enjoy company in her small kitchen when she was at work. It was her studio, her stage, a place to perform magical feats turning their large garden harvest into new kinds of food to delight the senses. I would sit quietly and observe her love for it all, and on days like this when I look with my minds eye, I realize how blessed I am to have the love of gardening and preserving flowing through my veins. I will never live up to her level of amazingness, but I will try my darndest to live up to my own level of excellence.

My beautiful, smart, loving Grandmother

PLEASE!!! Make sure you follow all safety guidelines that pertain to canning. These foods are high in acid, so only a water bath is needed, but they still need to be handled with care.

I hope you enjoy these following recipes and HAPPY CANNING!


Recipe #1- Yields about 7 pints

8 pounds 4-6 inch cucumbers- cut length wise into halves
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup canning salt
1 quart vinegar
1 quart water
3 tablespoons mixed pickling spices
1 head dill per jar

Wash cucumbers, drain. Combine sugar, salt, vinegar and water in saucepan. Put spices in spice bag and secure, add this to the vinegar mixture. Simmer 15 minutes.Pack cucumbers into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Place 1 head of dill in each jar. Ladle hot liquid over cucumbers, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Adjust two piece caps. Process 15 minutes in boiling water canner.

***If you want a Kosher pickle, add 1 bay leaf, 1 clove garlic, 1 piece of hot pepper and 1/2 teaspoon mustard seed to each jar. Process the same.***

Recipe #2- Yields about 7 pints

4 pounds 4 inch cucumbers
6 tablespoons canning salt
4 1/2 cups water
4 cups vinegar
14 heads fresh dill
3 1/2 teaspoons mustard seed
14 peppercorns

Wash cucumbers. Drain. Cut cucumbers into 1/4 inch crosswise or lengthwise. Combine salt, water and vinegar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Pack cucumbers into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Add 2 heads dill, 1/2 teaspoon mustard seed and 2 peppercorns to each jar. Ladle hot liquid over cucumbers, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Adjust two piece caps. Process 15 minutes in boiling water canner.