Pickling Recipe
By Liz Olson, Editorial Assistant
When I saw Roger Swain last, he recommended that I read The Joy of Pickling Linda Ziedrich. I wanted to try my own pickling and I love reading new recipes, so I was excited to pick up the book. She has great recipes for anything you can imagine, and everything you never thought about pickling. I have written a recipe below from The Joy of Pickling that I’m going to try with my cucumbers and onions this weekend.
Bread-and-Butter Pickles
Ingredients:
6 lbs. pickling cucumbers (4 - 5 inches)
2 lbs. small onions, sliced into thin rounds 1/2 cup pickling salt 4 1/2 cups cider vinegar 3 cups sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons ground turmeric 1 teaspoon celery seeds 2 teaspoons yellow mustard seeds
1. Gently wash the cucumbers, and remove the blossom ends. Slice the cucumbers crosswise 3/16 inches thick. In a large bowl, toss the cucumbers and onions with the salt. Cover the vegetables with ice cubes from two ice trays. Let the vegetables stand three to four hours.
2. Drain the vegetables. In a large non-reactive pot, bring the remaining ingredients to a boil. Add the vegetables, and slowly bring the contents to a boil. Using a slotted spoon, pack the vegetables loosely in eight pint or four quart mason jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Divide the liquid evenly among the jars. Close the jars with hot two-piece caps.
3. To ensure a good seal, process the jars for 10 minutes in a boiling-water bath. 4. Store the cooled jars in a cool, dry, dark place for at least three weeks before eating the pickles.
(Makes about four quarts)
Thursday, September 20, 2007 1:54:31 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00) 
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