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Craven County Sweet Pickles Recipe
Fresh pickling cucumbers (approximately 4 to 6 inches
long), washed and cut into 1/4-inch slices*
Water
pickling salt
Cider vinegar
pickling spices***
Sugar
*Use a mandoline slicer for a consistent 1/4-inch slice.
Also much faster than using a knife.
***Pickling spices are
usually found where herbs, spices, salt, and pepper are found in your
local grocery store.
DAY 1:
Place sliced cucumbers
in a large non-reactive container (stainless steel or porcelain) and cover with boiling water.
There will be a foam on the cucumbers for this first application of
boiling water, but you will not have any foam after that.
Do not cover the container with a lid.
This is because the water is so hot, and you don't want to cook the
pickles - just "scald" them.
Let sit until Day 2.
The cucumbers do not have to
be refrigerated during the five (5) day process. You want
the ingredients to be at room temperature and the water you
pour over them to be at the boiling point when you are
processing.
DAY 2:
Drain off water (do not rinse the
pickles)
and cover with fresh boiling water and pickling salt mixture.
(Pickling salt mixture = 1 1/2 cups pickling salt to 1 gallon boiling
water).
DAY 3:
Drain off water/salt mixture.
Do not rinse the pickles after
the salt step. Just drain the water mixture off
and proceed to the next step.
Cover with fresh boiling water and alum mixture.
(Alum mixture = 2 1/2
tablespoons alum to 1 gallon boiling water).
DAY 4:
Drain off alum
water and discard.
Do not rinse the pickles after
the alum step. Just drain the water mixture off
and proceed to the next step.
Boil together enough cider vinegar and pickling spices to cover
the cucumber slices
(1 gallon cider vinegar and 3 tablespoons pickling spices wrapped in
cheese cloth).
Pour prepared cider vinegar/pickling
spices over the cucumber
slices.
I place a towel on top of the
container, with a rubber band around the pot/towel to hold in place. I
do this because the vinegar smell is so strong. I then put the container
in the garage so they won't smell up the house.
DAY 5, 6 and 7:
Let the cucumbers sit in the vinegar solution,
covering the top with a towel to keep "whatever out." Do not cover the
mixture with a lid.
DAY 8:
Take cucumbers out of cider vinegar;
drain off cider vinegar and dispose (or throw away) the spice sack. I
do not
put the spices into my pickles. I am sure it would be okay if you
did, but I do not like having the spices in my pickles.
Ready to put into jars:
General Rule: For
every five (5)
cups of sliced cucumbers, add two (2) cups of granulated sugar (you want to thoroughly
cover the cucumbers as you would if you were flouring a piece of chicken to deep fry).
Pack into jars
of your choice:
<blockquote>
When I pack the jars, I put
approximately
a dozen slices of pickles and then 1/4 cup of sugar sprinkled around
on the slices - then another dozen or so pickles slices and another
1/4 cup of sugar until you have filled up the jar. You will end up
with approximately one (1) cup of sugar per quart jar.
As the
sugar dissolves it "pulls out" the vinegar from the pickles and
makes a sweet light syrup. When the sugar has dissolved, if you do
not have syrup high enough in the jar to cover all of the pickles
just add more sugar. I like to let my pickles age for a week and
then refrigerate - they are fantastic cold.
Make sure the pickles are covered
with the vinegar/sugar liquid or your top cucumbers will turn
darker.
NOTE: The
sugar sometimes does just sit on the bottom. I turn my jars upside
down from time to time so the sugar will travel from the bottom to
the top (which is now in the lower position). As you do this, the
sugar will dissolve and draw the vinegar out of the pickles and make
a syrup that will cover them. I turn the jars until the sugar has
completely dissolved. It may take a few turns; however, you can
also hold the jar in your hand and turn it back and forth to speed
up the process.
</blockquote>
Your jars will not be sealed but your pickles will be preserved.
You
can eat these sweet pickles immediately, but are much better if they are
allowed to sit in the syrup for a week or so.
I prefer my
pickles cold - straight from the refrigerator. They are a better taste
and texture.
You can store the pickles in a cool, dark place for many years.
Yield: 35 pounds of cucumbers yielded
approximately 18 quarts of sweet pickles.