Several years ago I had a bumper crop of cucumbers.  I decided I needed to find a pickle recipe I liked since Mom’s didn’t really bring back images of pickle love.    I started Googling recipes that had won at a state fair.   If I am going to spend the time, money, and effort to make something, I want to make sure I have the best recipe and ingredients.  I and found it —   Linda Cifuentes’ Blue Ribbon Bread and Butter Pickles came upon the Mrs. Wages website.  Ding, Ding, Ding…we have a winner!  I knew this recipe was going to be the one when I spilled some of the pickle syrup on the counter and my hand — it wasn’t hot and I absentmindedly licked it off my fingers…It was magic and I found myself thinking – will anyone see me lick it off the counter — it simply can’t be wasted!

Since I didn’t like pickles growing up, I didn’t learn how to make pickles from my mom – so here are some tips that I’ve found in my research that seem to really make the difference in the quality of the end product!  

Enjoy and add a little summer to your winter with this pickle!

Tips for Great, Crisp Pickles

​​Use your cucumbers as soon as possible, whether picked fresh or purchased from a farmer’s market or the store

Only use canning/pickling salt, it does not contain anti-caking ingredients that can make your pickles cloudy, or iodine, which can make your pickles dark.

Slice cucumbers as uniformly as possible.  

Add the pickling salt and ice to cover slices and let sit for about 3 hours.  None of the church cookbooks or my mom’s recipes includes this step — I’m convinced it is why the pickles are so crisp.

Blue Ribbon Bread and Butter Pickles

Recipe Type: Vegetable

Cuisine: American

Author: Linda Cifuentes

Prep time: 3 hours 30 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 3 hours 40 mins

Serves: 5 to 6 pints

The best Bread and Butter pickles I’ve ever eaten

Ingredients

6 pounds pickling cucumbers

1 pound onions (1 1/2 cups sliced)

2 large, peeled garlic cloves

1/3 cup pickling (canning) salt

2 trays of ice cubes

4 to 4 1/2 cups sugar (I only use 4 cups)

1 1/2 tsp turmeric

1 1/2 tsp celery seed

2 TBS mustard seed

3 cups cider vinegar

Instructions

Wash and slice cucumbers, peel and slice onions — combine in a large non-metal bowl

Add garlic cloves, canning salt and mix

Cover with ice cubes and let stand 2 to 3 hours

Remove garlic, rinse well and drain

In a large pot combine sugar, turmeric, celery seed, mustard seed, and vinegar

Stir and add drained cucumbers and onions

Heat for 5 minutes

To can, pack hot pickles in hot sterilized jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Adjust jar lids. Process in a boiling-water bath for 10 minutes for pints or quarts.

** You can also use as refrigerator pickles — I still pack in hot jars out of the dishwasher, cool and store in the fridge for up to 1 year.

3.5.3229

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~5 lbs of FREE venison from a friend (cube and ground)

local and raw chevre (had to sign a waiver???)

yard long beans

DUCK EGGS my love

     I'm in love with Marisa McClellan and her new book Food in Jars. From the fonts and photographs to the easy-to-read layout, the book is gorgeous. If you're a new canner, don't hesitate to pick it up - the recipes aren't complicated and it's all explained beautifully.

     Last week, I made her Classic Dill Pickle ["In a (Sunday) Pickle" part I] with cute little cucs from the market. Yesterday, I picked up a few small bunches of multicolored beets at our favorite tailgate market. Pickling these sweet, deeply hued root vegetables has been on my to-can list for three years, and I was thrilled to find that McClellan's version includes cinnamon and ginger. For two hours this morning, the house smelled like sweet spices and candied ginger! I can already see these jewel-toned wedges on a plate next to garlicy mashed potatoes, seasonal greens, and locally raised turkey at our Thanksgiving meal.