I can officially check pickling off my to do list. Overall, I found the process therapeutic. It offered the same kind of feeling I get when cooking or squeezing black heads from my nose. I like activities that allow my mind to wander.........way off into Lala Land where I am an incredibly talented backup dancer for Prince and things like car payments and Christmas gift shopping do not exist. I might prefer pickling over cooking. You see, after I slave over the stove and it’s time for my husband and I to sit in front of the TV to eat and ignore each other, my appetite is gone. This is probably because I use my piggy fingers as spoons to taste every ingredient. Pickling requires patience. According to the recipe I used, you need to wait at least one week to get the desired results. I can’t wait. Glee and pickles.
First, you’ll need to check the web or find a cookbook with a pickling recipe that suits you. Some are very simple, while others require more canning equipment, time, and money. I decided on regular old dill pickles and I used the pickling methods from Better Homes: You Can Can.
I got everything I needed at Walmart. I purchased almost 4 lbs of small cucumbers, a big jug of white vinegar, pickling salt (or you can use kosher salt), fresh dill, a twelve pack of pint jars, and a kit by the Ball Jar Company that had a canning rack lifter ($10 for the kit).
My recipe instructed me to bring 3 cups water, 3 cups white vinegar, 1/4 c of pickling salt, and 1/4 c sugar to a boil. In the meantime, I sterilized my jars and lids with hot soapy water and left them to soak in hot water in the sink until it was time to can (I plugged up one side of the sink and filled it with hot water).
Next, I cut the washed cucumbers...ends off and then split in half. HOWEVER, make sure your cucumber spears are not too tall for the jars. And don’t cut your finger off.
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There needs to be a 1/2 inch of headspace between the cucumbers and the jar lid. Then, I put 2-3 sprigs of dill in each jar (I filled up six pint jars) and stuffed each jar with as many cucumber spears as possible. Then, I ladled the hot vinegar mixture into the jars over the cucumbers, also leaving a 1/2 inch headspace. I twisted on the lids and kept the filled jars warm by placing them back in the hot water (sink).
The Boll Jar canning rack lifter will allow you to process three jars at a time. Insert the canning rack lifter into a BIG pot. Place three filled jars into the canning rack. Fill the pot with water (one inch above the jars). Boil jars for ten minutes. This gets the lids on really tight. When you’re done boiling, be sure to use pot holders to lift the canning rack out of the pot AND when you’re removing the piping hot jars from the canning rack lifter (duh). Place the hot jars on a towel on the counter. Then, do the same thing to the other three jars. You know you did it right if you press on the center of the lids with your fingertip and it DOES NOT make a clickity-poppy sound.
Let the jars cool for 12-24 hours. Refrigerate for a week and then give them as gifts. You might even want to right a little message or draw an inappropriate cartoon on the lid. Passive aggressive bosses and most animals love pickled veggies. And guess what? You spent maybe 30 bucks and most of your purchases can be used again and again and again. I’ll let you know how awesome they taste next week.
FUN FACTS:
*North Americans prefer pickles with warts. Europeans prefer wartless pickles (snobs).
*Good pickles have an audible crunch at 10 paces.
*Pickles are fat free and low in calories. An average-size dill contains only 15 calories and an ounce of pickled peppers provides only 7 calories.
And....this redneck loves pickles:
I am so intrigued, can not wait to hear about your adventures :)
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