Garlic Pickles from Lime Soak
Servings:
Prep time:
Cook-time:
Ingredients:
6 lbs fresh cucumbers
6 cloves garlic
2 quarts water
1 quart distilled white vinegar (5%)
1 cup canning or pickling salt
Fresh dill to taste
Pickling Lime
Canning jars
Sprigs of Dill
Whole black peppercorns
Whole mustard seeds
Red pepper flakes
INSTRUCTION
WHEN
canning, always be sure to follow a safe tested recipe. Using the brine
from the NCHFP recipe, this allows a 2:1 ratio of water to vinegar. So whatever your quantity of
cucumbers happens to be – this is how you plan for the amount of brine you
need. The amount of salt in this recipe, calls for an 8:1 ratio, which is
a lot of salt, and is used for flavor only, it is not a safety issue, so feel
free to reduce the salt to 1/2 cup.
MIX
1 gallon of water with 1/2 cup of pickling lime. Be sure to stand a bit
back so you do not breathe in the pickling lime – it is very powdery and
creates ‘dust’ as you use it. Use a whisk to completely dissolve the lime
into the water.
CUT
both ends off of your cucumbers, as leaving these on, will result in mushy
pickles. It has something to do with enzymes in the stem end. I cut
mine either on a mandolin at 1/8 inch or I have a crinkle cutter. As you
cut your cucumbers, place them in the lime soak bowl.
SOAK
for 24 hours, drain and rinse thoroughly in small batches to make sure you have
completely rinsed off the lime soak.
FILL
your bowl with ice water and soak the cucumbers for 3 hours, drain, rinse and
repeat 3 times. You will be able to feel how crispy your cucumbers are.
MAKE
THE BRINE by bringing the vinegar, water, salt to a boil. Add your
cucumbers and let them soak for 8 hours or overnight. Drain, but reserve
the liquid.
BRING
the brine to a boil and keep on a slow simmer while you prepare your jars for
canning.
USING
clean pint jars, pack with your sliced pickles, add 1-2 sprigs of dill, 1 tsp
minced garlic, 1/2 tsp pepper flakes, 1/2 tsp peppercorns, and 1/2 tsp
mustard seeds, 1/2 tsp dill seed. Do this one jar at a time, do not stage
jars.
USING
a ladle and a funnel, add brine to cover, leaving a 1/2 inch headspace.
Add your lid, and screw your ring on to fingertip tight. (This
means..do not twist down as hard as you can turn the ring, but rather when it
starts to feel slightly tight, give it one more half turn.
PLACE
your jars in your water bath or steam canner and repeat until you have the
canner filled. I use a steam canner for my convenience.
PROCESS
jars for 15* minutes, allow to cool for 5 before removing the lid. Using
a jar lifter, place hot jars on a wooden surface covered by a dishcloth and
leave undisturbed for 12 hours.
CLEAN
your cooled jars by washing with a hot soapy dishcloth to remove any residue
and viola! Pickles!
STORE your canned goods on a sturdy shelf, preferably one that is dark to preserve the color. Always check your jars before opening to use, to ensure that the seal is intact and there is no mold.
*15 minutes was based on my previous elevation - this needs increasing for my
new elevation of 2000.
Notes:
In the never ending
quest for a good crisp pickle recipe for canning, I happened across this
one. Discussions on facebook always turn to ‘my pickles are mushy’ even
when using Ball Pickle Crisp. Such was the case with me – and last
season (2016) I canned over 28 pints of cucumbers from my garden and ended up
throwing all of them away. No one in my family liked them at all!
So, I tried this recipe and I really liked the taste, the texture is more like
a Claussen pickle, the taste is very similar IMO.
If you have a moment
and would like to see a video of the process, please visit this link. Debbie
Seagraves has an extensive list of how-to’s on youtube.
Also, please visit the National Center for Home Food Preservation for more information.
ALWAYS FOLLOW safe canning procedures and recipes.
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