Not sure what has made me experiment so much in the kitchen the last week… perhaps it just provides something else to focus on instead of the wedding. Also, I have had a bit of a dillsplosion. This weekend I made my first attempt at pickles!
I did it while we watched Mary’s commencement. There was a live stream of it online (and apparently some on TV) because President Obama gave the commencement speech! I had to look up who gave my commencement speech… Gordon England. Meh…
As I do with most anything I make, I made it up as I went along, using a Spicy Dill Pickles recipe from Emeril to guide me. First your must sterilize. I put everything in boiling water for about 5 minutes.
While everything was getting sterilized, I cut everything up. I included big chunks of onion, lots of fresh dill, peppercorns, big cloves of garlic and, of course, the pickling cucumbers. I didn’t have any peppers on hand.
After everything has been sterilized and cooled, start your pickle juice! I used 3 cups of apple cider vinegar, 3 cups of water, 1/2 cup pickling salt, and 1/4 cup sugar. Stir so it all dissolves and bring to a boil. While that is coming to a boil, pack the jars full!
After your juice comes to a boil, pour it into each jar leaving a little room at the top. Be careful! It is hot! Tap each jar on the counter at least once to get rid of any air bubbles. Then place your lids!
Bring more water to a boil so you can process the jars. Carefully put your jars into the boiling water for about 15 minutes. I found that taking the pot off the heat made it easier for taking them out of the boiling bath when they were finished. Tongs didn’t do it for me.
That recipe called for 3 weeks of waiting… but it also left the cucumbers whole instead of cutting chips. Oh well, we will be preoccupied and out of the country for a bit anyway. We will try them when we get back from GB.
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