Happy Cabbage

Just a few days after making sweet pickles, I had about 10 cucumbers ready for harvest.  Looks like dill pickles it is.

I added three sprigs of dill, 2 garlic cloves, and 1/4 tsp. of red pepper flakes to each jar.  I sliced the cucumbers in rounds so that they would be perfect for hamburgers.  I made up a brine of 3 cups water, 2 cups vinegar, and 1/4 cup pickling salt.  After the jars were filled with cucumbers I added in the brine leaving 1/2 inch of head space.

Finished them off by processing the jars for 10 minutes.

Just have to wait 4-6 weeks to try them out!

With so many cucumbers growing like crazy, I decided to try my hand at making sweet pickles.  I based my process on the Mrs. Wages recipe.

First, I soaked them in lime water most of the day and then ice water for 3 hours.

 

Then I made up the syrup, soaked the cucumbers in that overnight, and boiled them in the morning.

 

I packed it all into jars and processed the jars for 10 minutes.  I had cut down the recipe since I was only working with three jars, but I ended up running out of the syrup.  I had to throw together some more.  Next time I’ll have to adjust.

Luckily, all of the jars sealed.  I won’t know if it is a complete success until they’ve had time to soak up all the flavor.