Ball Blue Book Pickle Food

DILL PICKLES

Steps:

• Wash cucumbers well.
• Chill cucumbers overnight in fridge, or, let soak in a tub or sink of ice water for several hours.
• Trim both ends off the cucumbers, then halve or quarter them lengthwise. Set aside in a large bowl.
• Put the vinegar, water and pickling spice (in a spice bag) in a pot. Add salt (or salt sub) and sugar, (or liquid stevia.)
• Bring to a boil, then simmer covered for 15 minutes.
• In each half-litre (US pint) jar put: 1 bay leaf, 1 peeled clove garlic, 1 teaspoon dill seed, 1 teaspoon mustard seed, 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes per jar, 1/8th teaspoon pickle crisp. (Double all these measurements for litre / US quart jars.)
• Pack raw cucumber halves or quarters upright into the jars. Leave 2 cm (1/2 inch) headspace.
• Fill each jar with the vinegar mixture up to 2 cm (1/2 inch) from the top.
• If you are short of the vinegar mixture, top up the jars with either pure vinegar or a mixture of half vinegar / half water (do NOT use all water.) Bring your top up liquid to a quick boil in the microwave; mind the surge when removing.
• Debubble, adjust headspace.
• Wipe jar rims.
• Put lids on.
• Process in a water bath or steam canner.
• Process either size jar for 15 minutes; increase time as needed for your altitude.

MUSTARD PICKLE

Steps:

• Prep the veg from the cucumber down to the onions.
• Put in a large bowl or pot, that you will have room for in fridge, several if needed.
• Mix vegetables well with the salt.
• Put vegetables in fridge for 12 hours. Stir or toss occasionally if desired.
• Drain, rinse and drain again.
• Mix everything from the turmeric down to the flour in a large pot. Whisk in the vinegar 250 ml (1 cup) at a time, then add the water, sugar and the garlic.
• Bring to a boil while stirring frequently, then reduce to a simmer until it's thick enough to start coating a spoon -- about 5 minutes. Whisk or stir frequently to avoid burning at the bottom.
• Add the drained veg to the mustard sauce in the pot, and simmer for 20 minutes counting from the time you added the veg to the sauce.
• Put in your choice of the following jar sizes: quarter-litre (1/2 US pint), half-litre (1 US pint), or litre (1 US quart.)
• Leave 2 cm (1/2 inch) headspace regardless of jar size.
• Debubble, adjust headspace with sauce mixture.
• Wipe jar rims.
• Put lids on.
• Process in a water bath or steam canner.
• Process all jar sizes for 10 minutes; increase time as needed for your altitude.
• Best after at least a month of jar time.

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR

Steps:

• 1 Rinse the cucumbers under cold running water, and trim any that are longer than 5 inches so that they'll fit comfortably in the jar. Cut each cucumber lengthwise into quarters. Place the spears in a large, clean container (such as a 12- to 18-quart food-safe plastic pail or basin). Combine 1 gallon of the water and 6 tablespoons of the salt in a large pitcher, stirring until the salt dissolves. Pour over the cucumbers; cover and let stand at room temperature 24 hours. Drain; rinse under cold running water, and drain. 2 Combine remaining 1 quart water, vinegar, next 2 ingredients, and remaining 1⁄4 cup salt in a stainless-steel or enameled saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring until the salt and sugar dissolve. 3 Place 2 of the dill sprigs and 1 teaspoon of the mustard seeds into a hot jar, and pack tightly with the cucumber spears. Ladle the hot pickling liquid over the spears, leaving 1⁄2-inch headspace. Add 1⁄8 teaspoon Ball® Pickle Crisp® Granules to jar, if desired. Remove air bubbles. Wipe the jar rim. Center the lid on the jar. Apply the band, and adjust to fingertip-tight. Place the jar in the boiling water canner. Repeat until all the jars are filled. 4 Process the jars 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Turn off heat; remove the lid, and let the jars stand 5 minutes. Remove the jars and cool.

BLUE RIBBON DILL PICKLES

Steps:

• GET ALL OF THIS GOING BEFORE FILLING THE JARS.
• Wash 7 quart jars in hot, soapy water (or dishwasher), rinse and fill with hot water; set aside.
• Fill canning kettle half-full with hottest tap water; set on burner over high heat.
• In a medium saucepan, fit lids and rings together, cover with water, bring to a simmer.
• In a large saucepan, bring water, vinegar and salt to boil; turn off the heat; set aside.
• FILL JARS: place a layer of dill at the bottom of each jar, along with one garlic clove (if used), then TIGHTLY load the cukes into the jar to the NECK of the jar (depending on size you may get two nice layers with a few small cukes in the top--)---squeeze cukes into the jar tightly--uniform size helps; add a few TINY spriglets of dill at the top, too, and another garlic clove if desired.
• Once jars are loaded, pour in the brine leaving half-inch head space in each jar.
• Add lid and ring to each jar, tightening evenly.
• Place jars into canner with water JUST to the necks of the jars.
• Bring water ALMOST to a boil (about 15 minutes--depending on how fast it heats up).
• Remove jars, set on a dish towel on the kitchen counter, cover with another dish towel & let cool.
• Check for seal (indented lid), label jars or lids, store in cool dark cellar or cupboard.
• NOTES: When washing/scrubbing cukes, sort them into piles by size. This really helps make your jars look nicer, if you have uniform sizes (and this impresses the judges too!). And makes for easier packing, too.