Old Fashioned Sweet Cucumber Pickle Food

OLD FASHIONED SWEET NINE DAY PICKLES

Steps:

• STEP ONE: Cut cucumbers in 1/2 inch pieces or a little larger and place in a crock or large glass container. Bring the soaking brine to a boil, pour over cut cucumbers, cover with a clean cloth and weigh down with a plate. Cover crock with a clean tea towel.
• Let stand three days.
• STEP TWO: Drain, put back in crock and cover with fresh water. There is no salt added to this.
• Let stand two days.
• STEP THREE: Drain and place back in crock.
• Bring the pickle solution with the alum to a boil and simmer two minutes pour over.
• Stand overnight.
• STEP FOUR: Drain and place back in crock. Make Sweet Pickle brine, bring to a boil and pour over. For three days drain this syrup into a large pot and bring to a boil. Pour back over the cucumber slices. The third day once again bring the syrup to a boil. Put pickles into sterilized jars, pour hot brine over and seal.
• I often replace some of the cucumber pieces with cauliflower chunks, making for a mixed sweet pickle.
• Makes about eight pints.

SUMMERTIME SWEET PICKLES

Steps:

• In a small saucepan at medium-high heat, combine cider vinegar, salt, sugar, tumeric and mustard seed. Bring to a boil and let cook for 5 more minutes.
• Meanwhile, slice cucumbers and onion. Loosely pack the vegetables in a 1-quart canning jar or other similarly sized container. Pour hot liquid over the vegetables in the container. Refrigerate for 24 hours and enjoy! Keep refrigerated.

EIGHT-DAY ICICLE PICKLES

Steps:

• Day 1: Place the cucumbers into a large (10-quart) jar or pickle crock. Stir the pickling salt and 16 cups of water (or as needed to cover the cucumbers) into a large pot, and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring until the salt is dissolved. Pour the boiling salt mixture over the cucumbers, and cover the crock with a cover or dinner plate.
• Days 2 and 3: Stir the pickles and brine once each day. Cover the crock each time.
• Day 4: Pour off the brine. Bring 16 more cups of water to a boil, and pour the boiling water over the pickles. Cover.
• Day 5: Pour off the water from the pickles again, and bring alum and 16 cups of water to a boil. Stir until the alum is completely dissolved. Pour the boiling water-alum mixture over the pickles. Cover.
• Day 6: In a large pot, boil 16 more cups of water with the sugar, pickling spice, vinegar, and food coloring. Pour the water-alum mixture from the pickles and discard, and pour the boiling sugar mixture over the pickles. Cover.
• Day 7: Pour off the syrup from the pickles, but retain the syrup. Transfer the syrup into a large pot, bring to a boil again, and pour over the pickles. Cover.
• Day 8: Pour off and retain the syrup again, and transfer into a large pot. Reboil the syrup over medium heat. Sterilize the jars and lids in boiling water for at least 5 minutes. Pack the pickles into the hot, sterilized jars, and pour the boiling syrup in, filling the jars to within 1/4 inch of the top. Run a knife or a thin spatula around the insides of the jars after they have been filled to remove any air bubbles. Wipe the rims of the jars with a moist paper towel to remove any food residue. Top with lids, and screw on rings.
• Place a rack in the bottom of a large stockpot and fill halfway with water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then carefully lower the jars into the pot using a holder. Leave a 2 inch space between the jars. Pour in more boiling water if necessary until the water level is at least 1 inch above the tops of the jars. Bring the water to a full boil, cover the pot, and process for 15 minutes.
• Remove the jars from the stockpot and place onto a cloth-covered or wood surface, several inches apart, until cool. Once cool, press the top of each lid with a finger, ensuring that the seal is tight (lid does not move up or down at all). Store in a cool, dark area.

BEST EVER SWEET PICKLES

Steps:

• In a large nonreactive bowl, combine cucumbers, onion and salt. Cover with crushed ice and mix well. Let stand 3 hours. Drain; rinse and drain thoroughly., In a Dutch oven, combine sugar, water, vinegars, mustard seed, celery seed and peppercorns. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Add cucumber mixture; return to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 4-5 minutes or until heated through., Carefully ladle hot mixture into 4 hot wide-mouth 1-pint jars, leaving 1/2-in. headspace. Add 3 garlic cloves and 1 bay leaf to each jar. Remove air bubbles and, if necessary, adjust headspace by adding hot pickling liquid. Wipe rims. Center lids on jars; screw on bands until fingertip tight. , Place jars into canner with simmering water, ensuring that they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil; process for 10 minutes. Remove jars and cool.

GRANDMA'S SPICY SWEET PICKLES

Steps:

• Slice cucumbers about 1/8 inch thick.
• Pour salt over cucumbers.
• Pour enough boiling water over all to cover.
• Stir and let stand 8 hours or overnight.
• Drain and discard brine.
• In a saucepan, combine vinegar, 1 cup sugar, spices and alum.
• Bring to a boil.
• Put cucumbers in a large glass jar or plastic bucket with lid or a stoneware crock.
• Pour boiling vinegar mixture over cucumbers.
• Cover and let stand.
• Next day, and each consecutive day for 5 days total, stir in one additional cup of sugar.
• Do not reheat when sugar is added.
• At the end of the 5th day, pickles are done and may be stored in covered jar.
• Do not seal jars.
• Pickles will keep indefinitely and get better with age.

GRANDMA'S OLD-FASHIONED SWEET RELISH

Steps:

• Combine cukes, onions, ice and salt.
• Let stand for 2 hours,.
• then drain.
• Mix the next 6 ingredients in a large pot.
• Bring to a boil, add ground cuke mixture, and cook for 20 minutes, or until it begins to thicken.
• While still hot, seal in sterilized jars.
• As far as preparation time, I use Grandma's old hand grinder, so I'm sure it would be much faster with a motorized food grinder.

14 DAY PICKLES

Steps:

• Combine cucumbers, water and walt in a large pan; heat to boiling, to dissolve salt.
• Pour over cucumbers and let set on counter for 7 days. (Use plastic or glass containers.).
• On the eighth day drain and cover with plain water in same container.
• On ninth day drain and cover with alum and boiling water.
• On the tenth day drain and cover with boiling water; cool and drain.
• Cover with vinegar, sugar, and pickling spice that has been heated to boiling; let set on counter.
• For next four days drain syrup into pan and add 1 cup more sugar.
• On the 14th day you can process pickles by canning or keep in the refrigerator indefinitely (years).