Simple Canned Pickles for Dummies like me, lol!
I canned pickles today! Two types, Dill and just pickles and onions, I also canned a couple jars of Jalapeno peppers! This is something I really enjoyed doing with my Grammie and Mom growing up. It was kinda like the icing on the cake for a gardener. See what you have grown being preserved. Its fun and its very easy, Its also a dieing art that needs to be taught to our children.
Here is the Basic Recipe, you can customize it to your tastes and likings:
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| The Redeemed Gardener |
Grammies Basic Pickling Recipe
4 lbs any vegetables (harder ones work better)
2 3/4 C Vinegar
3 C Water
1/4 C Sea Salt or Canning Salt (make sure it's not iodized)
When everything is set up and prepared, mix your pickle juice
ingredients - salt, vinegar, water - and heat them up in a pot on the
stove. Stir until salt dissolves.
Spices commonly used in pickling spice :
Coriander, Fennel, Dill, Black pepper corns, Dried red peppers, Mustard Seed, any spice you want!
Rather than using commercial pickling spice, play and blend the spices! Put a fair amount of the spices at the bottom of
the jars, but save some to top them off.
For sweet pickles, add
sugar. For smoky pickles, add black cardamom, chipotles, etc. After
you add the spice, pack the vegetables into the jars ( the tighter the better or as we say in West Virginia "the Fuller the Better"). Pour the hot
pickle juice over the pickles, leaving 1/4-1/2" head space at the top. Use
the corner of your clean towel to wipe off the band mouth of the jar
before you put the lid or the band on, so that there is no solids
blocking the seal. Put the lid and the band on and tighten finger
tight.
Note: we always put the lids in boiling water right before we put them on for a few minutes (this kills bacteria and helps make the rubber softer for a better seal) .
Caution! Make sure to load the hot jars
on the clean towel, and to use hot pickle juice, because the heat
differential between jars, the juice and the counter can cause the jars
to explode! Trust me I have had it happen and no matter how careful you are you will as well.
Put the jars into a hot water bath. Make sure there is at least 1" of
water covering the lids, and bring to a boil. Boil for 10-14 minutes
(add 5 min for every 1000 feet above sea level you are). If boiled for
less time, there is a greater risk that it won't seal or kill the
bacteria, but your pickles will be crisper! Longer times will result in
greater safety, but softer pickles.
When done pull jars out of Hot water bath and set on towels to cool and seal. Listen for the pooping sound. Then do the push test on the lid to make sure they are sealed. It doesn't take long!
Have fun and make it a family project!
Well, I've started harvesting potatoes here in West Virginia! This is a new type for me, we planted "fingerlings" alone with the old standby Yukons. While the Yukons are not ready yet, the fingerlings are ready to dig. What are these potatoes that I speak of? Fingerling potatoes, so named because they resemble fingers. These small, waxy, narrow, elongated potatoes typically range from 2 to 4 inches in length. Fingerling potatoes come in a variety of colors, from pale yellow to red to purple. Fingerlings have mild to nutty flavors. Some varieties of fingerlings are hundreds of years old. These potatoes cook more quickly than larger types, maintain their shape well when cooked, and generally create an aesthetically pleasing plating.
