Canning is new to me as I mentioned in my recent Strawberry Jam blog, but I am honestly loving it and can’t wait to try more recipes. My father jokingly asked if I was going to be giving homemade jars out as Christmas gifts, which I was planning on doing 😬. Oh well, I think homemade goodies are better than store bought gifts. And so far the two things I have made are delicious!
Ok, so Dill Pickles are my latest creation and they turned out better than I expected. They had a very different taste than any others I have tried, and my husband said they were the best pickles he has ever had. They have a strong vinegar taste at first but then the garlic dill flavor pops and is so good!
I purchased 8 oz. jars for these but I feel like a larger jar might have been better because there really aren’t that many pickles in each jar. You can decide how you large you want your jars to be.
To make pickles you need the following ingredients:
Mason jars
10-12 small pickling cucumbers
2 garlic cloves
2 tsp. mustard seed
2 tsp. black peppercorn
Fresh dill
2 cups water
2 cups distilled white vinegar
1/4 cup cane sugar
2 tbsp. sea salt
I am not really sure if the cucumbers I purchased are technically pickling cucumbers, but they were the smallest I could find.
Cut the cucumbers into small spears or into slices and fill the jars while leaving a little room for the other ingredients.
Then put a sprig of dill and a 1/4 clove of garlic into each jar, and divide the mustard seeds and peppercorns evenly into the jars.
Now you need to make the brine that pickles the cucumbers. This is done by combining the water, vinegar, sugar, and salt in a saucepan and cooking over low/medium heat until the sugar and salt are dissolved.
Let the brine cool slightly and pour evenly into the jars covering the cucumbers.
Let the jars cool to room temperature and then seal them. Refrigerate for at least 5 days to let the flavor absorb into the cucumbers.
They are so good you will want to eat them all!
