Quick Sweet Pickles

May be canned as either strips or slices

• 8 lbs of 3 to 4 inch pickling cucumbers
• 1/3 cup canning or pickling salt
• 4-1/2 cups sugar
• 3-1/2 cups vinegar (5%)
• 2 tsp celery seed
• 1 Tbsp whole allspice
• 2 Tbsp mustard seed
• 1 cup pickling lime (optional) for use in variation below for making firmer pickles
• Yield: About 7 to 9 pints

Procedure:

Wash cucumbers. Cut 1/16-inch off blossom end and discard, but leave 1/4 inch of stem attached. Slice or cut in strips, if desired. Place in bowl and sprinkle with 1/3 cup salt. Cover with 2 inches of crushed or cubed ice. Refrigerate 3 to 4 hours. Add more ice as needed. Drain well. Combine sugar, vinegar, celery seed, allspice, and mustard seed in 6-quart kettle. Heat to boiling.

Hot Pack

Add cucumbers and heat slowly until vinegar solution returns to boil. Stir occasionally to make sure mixture heats evenly. Fill sterile jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace.

Raw Pack

Fill hot jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Add hot pickling syrup, leaving 1/2-inch headspace.

Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace if needed. Wipe rims of jars with a dampened clean paper towel. Adjust lids and process as below:

Packing Method	Jar Size	Process Time in Minutes at Altitudes of
		0-1,000 ft	1,001-6,000 ft	Above 6,000 ft
Raw	Pints	10	15	20
	Quarts	15	20	25
Hot	Pints or Quarts	5	10	15

Variation for firmer pickles: Wash cucumbers. Cut 1/16-inch off blossom end and discard, but leave 1/4-inch of stem attached. Slice or strip cucumbers. Mix 1 cup pickling lime and 1/2 cup salt to 1 gallon water in a 2 to 3 gallon crock or enamelware container.

CAUTION Avoid inhaling lime dust while mixing the lime water solution. Soak cucumber slices or strips in lime water solution for 12 to 24 hours, stirring occasionally. Remove from lime solution and rinse and resoak 1 hour in fresh cold water. Repeat the rinsing and resoaking two more times. Handle carefully because slices or strips will be brittle. Drain well.

NOTES

• Commonly added spices: dill, mustard seeds, celery seed, allspice, turmeric.
• When held in a cool dark place at 72° F (22° C) or lower, sealed jars can be stored for one year without losing quality.
• Use a commercially manufactured 5 percent acidity (50 grain) white vinegar. Other vinegars have a good flavor and aroma, but may darken white or light colored fruits and vegetables.