All You Need to Know About Pickles!

Pickles!
One of the best snacks ever! I could eat through a whole jar of pickles.
My mom's garden gave us a ton of cucumbers and you can only eat so many cucumbers before you really just get sick of them. So I decided that two weeks into my marriage one week after being in my own kitchen I was going to attempt canning all by myself for the first time....
hah.
Well, after doing my research I found out some great information and made delicious pickles! I am going to tell you how to do it!


First. Canning pickles on your own is a bad idea. Unless you like soggy pickles don't do it. Now, I know you see my cans above but I didn't "can" them and I'll explain that in a second. When you put cucumbers into a jar and preserve them in boiling water on the stove for the pantry they do that quite a long time but they get soggy. Who likes soggy pickles?

So here is the better option. Refrigerator pickles!
I like good ole dill pickles but you can add whatever you like to your pickles!

What you need:

a small pot
3 large canning jars (that have been sanitized)
utensils

3-5 large cucumbers
3 cups of water
3 cups of vinegar (I used plain white but think apple cider would be better)
4 1/2 tablespoons of salt
6 teaspoons of dill seed
1 1/2 teaspoons of crushed red pepper
6 smashed garlic cloves

First slice your cucumbers. You can do spears or slices. Whatever you do make sure the jars are stuffed, you don't want a lot of extra space.
After those are cut mix together your spices. the garlic, dill seed and crushed red pepper and disperse it equally to all three jars. Put the cucumbers right on top of the spices in the jars very stuffed.
Set the jars aside and put the water, vinegar and salt into the pot and bring it to a boil and then simmer for 5 minutes till the salt is dissolved. Pour the mixture evenly into all three jars. Make sure it covers the top. Sometimes you need to make more. Don't skimp on the liquid. Lightly tap the jars on the counter to get all the air bubbles out.
Screw the lids on and then let them sit on the counters until they are room temperature and then stick them right in the fridge. Don't open the jars for 48 hours for the best pickle taste in the beginning!

These jars will last in the fridge for a couple months. Not as long as in the pantry but just fine. The cucumbers stay much more fresh and crunchy. Delicious!

If you have any questions about pickles let me know!

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