How To Make Pickles

Ingredients and supplies:

• 6 large cucumbers, fresh
• 4 onions
• 1/4 cup pickling salt (not table salt)
• 1 pint white vinegar
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon celery seed
  1 teaspoon mustard seed
• Knife
• Medium pot
• Glass jars with rings and lids
• Funnel
• Water bath canner (optional)
• Jar lifting tongs (optional)

Prepare the cucumbers and onions. Wash the cucumber, and then slice them. You can make thin slices, or cut the cucumbers into spears. For bread and butter pickles, you'll want to cut the cucumbers into round slices, about 1/4" thick. Then slice the onions.

Mix the ingredients. Mix the onions and cucumbers with the pickling salt, and let stand for an hour. This will allow the salt to soak into the cucumbers. Then drain, and rinse with a few cups of cold water.

Prepare the jars. While you're waiting on the cucumbers and onions, prepare the jars. Sterilize them in your dishwasher, or boil them for a few minutes. Keep them warm as you prepare the pickles. Otherwise the hot vinegar mixture could crack the jars.

Cook the seasonings. In a medium pot, combine the vinegar, sugar, celery seed, and mustard seed. Heat until the mixture boils, and then cook for 3 minutes.

Pack into jars. Fill each jar with the onion/cucumber mixture. The number of jars will depend on how your pickle slices fit into the jars. Then carefully pour in the hot vinegar mixture over the cucumbers, leaving about a quarter inch at the top of the jars. Use a funnel to avoid spilling the hot vinegar. Wipe the tops of the jars, and screw on the lids.

Can the pickles. This is optional, but after canning, you'll be able to store the pickles on a shelf for up to a year. Otherwise you'll need to refrigerate all of the jars and use them within a few months. Boil water in the canner, and place the jars in the boiling water for ten minutes. Then remove with the jar lifting tongs, and allow the jars to sit undisturbed overnight. Press down on the tops of the lids to make sure they sealed correctly. If any failed to seal correctly, keep them in the refrigerator, and use those jars first.

Enjoy! Let the pickles rest for at least a few days for better flavor. Unlike other pickles, bread and butter pickles don't need to cure for weeks or months.