Two Popular Recipes - Tried and True!

Libby's Dill Pickles  

14 cups cold water

7 cups white vinegar

1 cup non iodized salt (sea salt, kosher salt, pickling salt)

Garlic and Dillweed. 

Grape leaves - It is said that 2 rolled up per jar will keep them crisp.  I have yet to try it but MANY customers recommended this to me.

I put 4-8 cloves of garlic per jar and a minimum of two dill flower heads, plus stalks, plus plus in each jar.  If your dill weed has aphids submerse it in iced water and they will float off.

This recipe makes 6 X 1.5 litre jars

15 lbs of pickles makes 8 large jars (1.5 l) or 20 lbs makes 24 one litre jars.......

Scrub cukes, nip off stem and the end where the flower was, sterlize jars - I put them in the dishwasher on the hot dry cycle. 

I take one jar out of the dishwasher at a time, stuff the jars with pickling cukes

Boil brine and pour over packed cukes. 

Wipe the top of the jar with dry cloth, put heated lids on immediately and rings.  They will seal.  If they don't put them in your fridge or reboil brine and do it again. 

My mother-in-law says don't eat them for 4-6 months, but others have said 3 weeks.......

Ernie Sgarbossa's Bread and Butter Pickles  (long time Cumberland resident and chef extraordinaire)

4 quarts of sliced cukes (make sure they are scrubbed clean, cut off flower tip and stalks)

1 cup salt (non iodized - sea salt, pickling salt or kosher salt)

3 1/3 - 4 1/2 cups white sugar (I use 3 1/3 but depending on your taste buds you can go up to 4.5 cups)

3.5 cups white vinegar (5% Heinz is best)

1 teaspoon Turmeric (fresh from Edible Island)

1 quart sliced large white or purple onion

9 cups water

1.5 cups water

1/2 teaspoon celery seed (optional)

1 tablespoon mustard seed  (Again Edible Island is best)

Method:

Slice cukes and onions.  Place in large bowl.  pour salt and 9.5 cups of water over top.  cover and leave overnight.

Pour off brine and rinse cukes well with cold water.

Place 1.5 cups water, vinegar, turmeric, seeds, sugar in large pot, heat.

Add sliced cukes and onions to pot with water and vinegar.

Bring to a boil.

At this point there are two ways you can do it:

Reduce heat and boil for 10 minutes.  Put in well sterilized oven warmed pint jars.  Wipe around top of jar.  Put warmed (in water) lid and ring on.  They will seal.

OR:

Reduce heat and boil for 5 minutes.  Put in well sterilized oven warmed pint jars.  Wipe around top of jar.  Put warmed lids on and place in water bath and boil for 5 minutes.  They will seal.