Fresh Dill Pickles Food

REFRIGERATOR DILL PICKLES

Steps:

• Stir water, vinegar, sugar, and sea salt together in a saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil; remove from heat and cool completely.
• Combine cucumber spears, garlic cloves, and fresh dill in a large glass or plastic container. Pour cooled vinegar mixture over cucumber mixture. Seal container with lid and refrigerate for at least 3 days.

FRESH BABY DILL PICKLES

Steps:

• In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, sugar, dill, mustard, salt, pepper and cloves until sugar is dissolved. Cut cucumbers into 1/8-in. (3 mm) thick slices to make 3 cups (750 mL).
• Place cucumbers in a 4 cup (1 L) sealable jar; pour vinegar mixture over top. Push down on cucumbers until completely submerged in liquid. Seal jar; refrigerate about 24 hr, or up to 5 days.

EASY DILL PICKLES

Steps:

• Wash the cucumbers and remove any stems.
• Cover with cold water and refrigerate overnight or for several hours.
• Pack the cucumbers into pint jars as tightly as possible.
• Poke in 2 springs of dill.
• Bring the cider vinegar, water, salt and garlic cloves (12 to 16 cloves depending on your taste) to a boil.
• Boil for 2 minutes.
• Fish out the garlic cloves with a slotted spoon and put one in each jar (or to taste) while the brine cools slightly.
• Pour the hot brine into the jars and seal.

DILL PICKLES BY THE JAR

Steps:

• Using a soft vegetable brush, thoroughly scrub the cucumbers in cool running water. Cut 1/16 inch off the blossom end. Discard any cucumbers that are bruised or damaged.
• Put however many quart canning jars that you need into a canner and cover them with water; bring to a boil and boil for 10 minutes.
• Make the brine with the water, vinegar and salt; put them in a pot and heat until the salt is dissolved.
• Put a couple good heads of dill seed into each sterilized jar.
• Seed heads should be well-formed but still green.
• Add a clove of garlic and/or a hot pepper if desired.
• Pack the jar with the cucumbers.
• I find it easiest to start with the jar on its side, laying some of the larger cucumbers along the bottom then keep stacking on top of them. Use the end of a large wooden spoon to gently push more cukes in once it gets snug in there. Then repeat with a second row of stacked cukes, picking ones that will fit in without sticking too far up in the jar. There may then be room to lay a couple on top.
• Pour the hot brine over them, and cap at once with a sterilized lid.
• Do not hot water process.
• Store jars on newspaper in case they overflow while fermenting.
• Can be opened in 6 weeks but much better after 6 months!

DILL PICKLES

Steps:

• Wash the cucumbers and quarter them length wise.
• Combine the vinegar, water, sugar, salt, and bay leaf in a enameled pot.
• Put the cloves ,celery seeds, peppercorns, mustard seeds, and 1/2 teaspoon of the dill seeds in a muslin bag and add it to the vinegar (if using fresh dill, omit the dill seeds here.)
• Bring this liquid to a boil, lower the heat, and let it simmer for 15 minutes.
• Remove the bay leaf and spice bag from the vinegar.
• Put 1/4 tsp dill seeds, or 1 head fresh dill weed, into each of the 2 clean quart jars.
• Fit the cucumber spears an compactly as possible into the jars and pour the hot vinegar mixture over them.
• The cucumbers should be completely covered with the liquid, and there should be at least 1/2 inch of headroom at the top.
• Screw down the lids and process the jars in a boiling-water bath for 20 minutes.
• Allow the pickles to cool, check the seals, and label the jars.
• The pickles will improve in flavor if left to ripen for a few months.
• Yields approximately 2 quarts.