Pickling Around

As I have mentioned in several prior posts I am learning how to can things so we can have local grown produce year round! While I was at my parents house we canned tomatoes. I was shocked at how easy it was and excited to try canning some other things while I wait on my tomatoes to ripen.

My CSA box included pickling cucumbers this week. B immediately said, "you should make pickles with those!"  I jumped at the idea and spent Thursday evening  in the kitchen. I did not spend much time looking for a recipe, as I just needed to get them canned before they were too ripe.  I found a recipe on Simple Bites and decided to use it. She does a wonderful job at explaining the process. I am not going to post the actual recipe here, so check it out here. 

The only thing I did not like about the recipe was how long it took to prepare the jars for canning.   The preparation of the cucumbers and other ingredients did not take long, the longest part was waiting for the water to boil to prepare the jars. Not sure if this is a necessary step, as I have found some recipes that do not include this step. I have read that the oven method of heating jars is no longer recommended, so maybe this is the only option. Any advice from those that have canned pickles or should I say cucumbers....?

Here are some pictures I took of the process. My pictures are never that great because I only do these projects in the evenings which does not offer the best light! 

Cucumbers ready for overnight soak

Supplies

Cucumbers covered in canning salt

Cucumbers, salt, and water. Soaked about 24 hours.

Dill soaking in water to make sure there are no bugs

Jars in hot water, waiting for it to boil.

Jars of cucumbers with all ingredients ready to boil for 15 minutes

Finished product, we have pickles!

As soon as we try our first jar, in a week or two, I will let you know how they turned out.  I am crossing my fingers they crisp! 

Have you canned anything this summer?  I just found a recipe for roasting and freezing bell peppers and plan to try this sometime this week since I have several peppers that will be ready to harvest!

Til' Next Time,