dill pickles

posted in: gardening, in the kitchen | 4

 

pickles_0

pickles_1

A recent rainy day presented the perfect opportunity to finally do some pickling. I’m growing Boston Pickling cukes this year, just for this reason, and they have been producing pretty well. I’ve been stalling on this project for a while. Being my first official foray into canning of any sort, I admit I felt a tiny bit intimidated. The worst that could happen though, is I would lose a few pounds of cucumbers. So!pickles_2

pickles_3

I followed the garlic dill pickles recipe from Marisa McClellan’s site, Food In Jars. This is a quick pickle (she recommends letting them sit 2-4 days before eating), so you won’t have to wait for weeks to try them. The only modification I made was I added 1/2 tsp coriander seed to each jar. I also followed her guide for salt substitution, and used the sea salt I had on hand in place of pickling salt.pickles_5

pickles_6

These were pretty simple to put together, just as I was assured they would be. The hardest part was just waiting for the water to boil to sterilize my jars, and then again for the water bath.  I realized halfway through sterilization, that I shouldn’t be using the canning pot on a glass cook top (indicated on the pot, and in part, because the base of the pot is not flat), so we moved outside onto a propane camp stove for the water bath. The water bath process can be skipped if one wants to keep their pickles in the fridge, but I’d rather have the fridge space.pickles_8

pickles_7

I waited about 36 hours to pop open the first jar. And it’s true, this is a great pickle! Classic dill pickle flavor, with quite a kick of heat. If you like it spicy, I think Marisa hit it just right (I think my 1/4 teaspoons were overflowing a little). If spicy is not so much your thing, you will want to tone it down on the chili flakes.

I found that as soon as I finished making these, I felt excited about sharing them. I especially can’t wait to give some to my pickle loving sister.

I can see how people get really into canning. It’s a fun process, and the results are so satisfying. I am already looking forward to more. Next up? Maybe some tomato jam.

4 Responses

  1. Marri

    May I suggest the addition of a bit of mustard seed as well? I LOVE making dill pickles!

    • abby

      yes, that’s a great suggestion! i actually wanted to, but didn’t find it available when I looked.

  2. jodi

    Yay, Abby, I’m so glad you tried canning! I just started myself several years back and now home canned goods are my favorite things to give as gifts. I especially love making fig jam… it’s so good on toast or with good cheese. Have fun 🙂

Leave a Reply to abby Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *