Wednesday, June 24, 2015

My mother taught me to can.  I am teaching my daughter to can, too.  My garden is starting to hit its stride, thus, my three cucumber plants went completely bonkers and I had a pile of cucumbers to contend with.  There's only so much cucumber salad any one family can eat, so while I was a pound shy on cucumbers to make a triple batch of my mother's bread and butter pickles, I added more onion and off to the races I went.

The recipe is here. I put dried hot chile's into a few bottles, but other than that, here's the recipe from my mother.


BREAD AND BUTTER PICKLES


6 lbs. cucumbers (about 4 inches long) thinly sliced, do not pare
4 large onions, sliced
2 green peppers, sliced
½ cup salt—do not use iodized salt
5 cups cider vinegar
5 cups sugar
1 ½ teaspoons turmeric
2 tablespoons mustard seed
2 tablespoons plus two teaspoons celery seed
16 whole cloves (I used a teaspoon)
Mix together the cucumbers, onion, green pepper and salt in a large bowl or earthenware crock. (Can use stainless steel pot, but not aluminum) Cover vegetables with with small ice cubes. Cover with a weighted plate and set aside about three hours. Drain.
Meanwhile, blend vinegar and remaining ingredients together in a large kettle.
Add drained vegetables and set over medium heat. Heat thoroughly, but do not boil, stirring occasionally with a wooden or stainless steel spoon.
Pack into sterilized jars and seal.
Makes 8 pints.