Cucumbers

My cucumbers did really good this year.  I have been home canning a variety of  pickles. Twelve day pickles, dill pickles, lime pickles plus cucumber relish are put up for the winter.

                                             What to do with these?

Guess I will do more dill pickles since that is my favorite.  Finally found something to with this cutter that I purchase at one of those Pampered Chef parties a long time ago.  It does a great job cutting those cucumbers into nice dill pickle slices.

Dill Pickles

7-8 lbs cucumbers
1 cup canning salt (not table salt)

35 peppercorns
1 Tbsp canning salt
7 cups water
6-1/2 cups white vinegar
7 cloves of garlic, each cut into quarters
14 dill heads
7 small grape leaves (used to keep cucumbers firm)

First Day

1- Wash cucumbers. Trim off ends and make the pretty slices with your Pampered Chef cutter.
2- In a large bowl, layer cucumbers and salt . Add cold water to cover . Place a plate on top to weigh down the cucumbers. Cover and let stand at a cool room temperature for at least 12 hours.
3- Soak dill heads upside down in a bucket of salt water overnight. Any bugs on the heads will either drown or crawl away.

Second Day

1. Sterilize jars by washing in the dish washer or a large pot of boiling water for 5 minutes. Keep lids in a saucepan of water on low heat.
2-Rinse and drain the cucumbers. Rinse again and drain well. Set aside.
3- Combine the salt, water, and vinegar in a pot. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring often until salt is dissolved. Boil for 1 minute. Reduce heat to low and keep liquid hot.
4-Place 1 grape leaf, 2 pieces garlic, 4 to 5 peppercorns and 1 dill head into the jar. Pack cucumbers into the jar, leaving about 1 inch headspace, and top with 2 pieces of garlic and 1 dill head.
5- Place the canning funnel over the jar and using a ladle, pour hot pickling liquid into the jar, leaving 1/2-inch  headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace as necessary by adding hot pickling liquid. Wipe the rim with a clean cloth or paper towel dipped in warm water. Using the silicone tongs, remove a lid from the saucepan of hot water and place it on the jar. Screw on a band until it’s fingertip-tight.
6- Place the jars in the canner and return to a boil. Process for 15 minutes. Let the jars stand in the hot water for 5 minutes. Then use the canning tongs to transfer the jars to a clean towel on the counter and let them stand for 24 hours. You should start to hear the happy pinging of lids sealing as they cool.