Making your own dill pickles is fun and easy.
Making your own dill pickles is fun and easy. Kids love to help in the canning process, making this a great family activity. Dill pickles are great in vegetable trays. They also can make great gifts at the holidays. Experimenting with the recipe also can impart different tastes by adding or removing hot peppers or the amount of garlic placed in each jar.
Instructions
1. Sterilize the canning jars. Place the canning jars in hot water, not quite boiling. The water should be at least 1 inch above the top of the lid. Bring the water to a boil for at least 10 minutes.
2. Place one clove of garlic, hot peppers and a sprig of dill weed into a sterilized canning jar. These items will help flavor the brine and penetrate into your pickles. The amount of hot peppers added to each jar will determine how spicy each pickle will be.
3. Clean the cucumbers. Do not use any cucumbers that have blemishes. Try to use freshly picked cucumbers for best results. Older and damaged cucumbers will shrivel during the pickling process. Add the cucumbers into the canning jars.
4. Prepare the brine by combining 14 cups of water, 2 cups vinegar, and 1 cup canning salt. Bring the brine to a boil. Add the brine into each canning jar. Attach caps to each jar.
5. Bring a water bath to a boil. Boil the jars in the bath for 10 minutes or until half the cucumbers have lost their bright green color. Overdoing this step will produce soft pickles.
Tags: canning jars, Bring water, dill pickles, dill pickles easy, Making your