Dill Pickles - Home Cooking

Dill Pickles

For best results, the cucumbers used for these pickles should be very fresh, preferably just picked.

3 dozen freshly picked cucumbers (approximately 4" long) - unpeeled and sliced in half, lengthwise
3 cups vinegar, 5% acidity
3-1/2 cups water
1/4 cup canning salt
dill weed - 16 heads of fresh or 1/2 cup dried dill (about 1 tablespoon dried or 2 heads fresh per jar)
4 garlic cloves, minced (about 1/2 clove per jar)
8 tsp. mustard seeds (about 1 tsp. per jar)
32 peppercorns -( about 4 per jar)

Preparation -
Place the washed cucumbers halves in a large bowl. Cover with a layer of ice cubes and refrigerate for 4 hours. Drain completely. Mix the canning salt, vinegar and water together in a saucepan and heat to boiling. Arrange the cucumber halves, standing upright, in 8 pint jars. Add the dill, garlic, mustard seeds and peppercorns to each jar. Pour the hot vinegar brine over the cucumber slices and spice in each jar, leaving 1/2" headspace. Apply the caps and bands. Process for 5 minutes in a boiling water bath canner. Remove the jars from the canner to cool. Check the seals and label the jars before storing in a cool, dark place.

The Joy of Pickling: 200 Flavor-Packed Recipes for All Kinds of Produce from Garden or Market
This book features more than 200 pickling recipes. It includes classic cucumber pickles, like half-sours, dills, bread-and-butters, cornichons, and more, plus abundant recipes for things that gardeners grow in surplus, like zucchini, peas, corn, and green beans. Here are pickles of every type and stripe, including fermented, fresh, sweet, quick, and freezer pickles. It covers the traditional European and Asian cabbage pickles, Far Eastern rice-bran, miso, and soy-sauce pickles, as well as American mixed pickles like piccalilli, chow chow and more.

	Sandy Moyer BellaOnline's Home Cooking Editor