Friday, August 1, 2014

More Canning!

My family loves pickles. Really loves pickles. I used to be able to buy these amazing and huge dill pickles at a grocery store, bulk. They were so big you could fit maybe 3 in a container. They always sold out quickly, and unfortunately now they don't carry them. When I would bring them home, the kids would dive into it.
I decided to make some yummy extra extra garlicky dill pickles. I went shopping at the local farms and got the dill and pickling cukes.. I had no idea how much the recipe would make.. frankly I put as many as I could possibly fit into the jars. I put the cukes in a bowl and sprinkled sea salt on them.. then added water until it was just covering them. I placed a dinner plate over top to keep them under the water and let them soak for more than 12 hours.. I didn't time it, but you can soak them from 12-24 hours.
At the same times as I got this part going, I did a sea salt bath for my dill. Hanging them upside down in a salt water mixture will ensure you don't have any added surprises in your jar.. and yes there were a few in my water afterwards.
I got my pickling mix ready.. and boy does it make the house smell of pickling! Heated my jars.. and got my canner boiling. Peeled my garlic and cut it into quarters and then once the jars were sterilized and hot I packed them with the garlic, dill and cucumbers. Then poured the pickling mix into the jars and wipe.. lids and rings.. and into the canner they go.
 
 


This was the first time I ever had a jar break on me when canning. I was given the jars and there may have been a small crack that I didn't notice. I was sad, because I didn't want to waste any of the pickles. I didn't notice that it was cracked until the water bath was done, and some of the liquid was gone. I took that jar and emptied the contents into another jar.. thankfully I had enough of the pickling liquid to cover it and I put that jar to ripen in the fridge. Water bathing it again to seal it would of meant some very mushy pickles .. so we will see how it turns out.

Next year I plan on growing my own pickling cukes.. The cheapest I could find was $1 lb and that adds up quickly. Those little cukes are heavy.
On with the domestic fun!! Wonder what will be next...???? stay tuned :)

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