Canning Pickles

Oh my gosh! I love pickles. I could eat a jar of pickles a day! Last year I canned like 14 jars of pickles and they were gone by march. So this year I canned as many as I could stand doing. I think I ended up with about 45 Quart jars and 6 pints. Canning pickles is actually fairly easy. I have a simple recipe that makes good crunchy pickles.

Makes 7 pint jars
Ingredients:

Fresh Dill heads
Pickling cucumbers
Garlic cloves
Pickle crisp 1/4t for each jar

Brine:
8 1/2 Cups water
2 1/4 White Vinegar
1/2 pickling salt

Start by getting the water going in your canner. I fill mine about half full and get it boiling. 

I then get a small pan boiling for my lids. Add lids. boil 10 min

I also get my oven going at 225 and put my jars on a sheet pan to sanitize them. Set a timer for 10 minutes. Just turn off the oven after ten minutes and leave jars in there until you're ready to stuff them.

In a stock pot ad the brine ingredients and bring to a boil. 

Cut up your cucumbers if they need to be cut. Stuff the jars with desired dill and garlic amounts, add cucumbers and add pickle crisp now. (you can also add peppers or other ingredients if you choose) Fill jars with brine leaving 1/2inch head space. Wipe rims, and lids, seal with a ring. 

Move the jars to your water bath canner, and process for ten minutes. Remove the jars from the canner and let cool on the counter for 24 hours. The lids should seal, a con caved lid that doesnt move or make any noise is a sealed jar. If you have a jar that does not seal you can store it in the fridge until you're ready to eat it. It is recommended that you wait a minimum of 2 weeks after canning to eat otherwise they are probably just going to taste like cucumbers.