First Batch Of Pickles

The cucumbers have been showing up in ones and twos for a week or so and we have been eating them as fast as they can grow.  There is nothing quite like a fresh sliced cucumber sprinkled with a touch of salt and vinegar (a trick I learned from grandma).  This weekend I had enough of a flush of young tender cucumbers to make a tiny batch of pickles - the first of the year.  I only ended up filling two pint jars with my humble harvest, but I adore pickles and have vowed to grow enough cucumbers every summer to keep me in pickles until the next summer.  Last year I succeeded at that feat and still have two jars of pickles to show for it though I think they may not be around long. 

I have decided to pickle my cucumbers whole this year.  Last year I made both whole and speared pickles and I thought that the whole pickles held their crunch much better than the spears.  I don't use pickle crisp because I like to keep the recipes as simple as possible.  We are also at about 6000 ft of elevation so I have to boil the jars longer to adjust for altitude.  I think the longer cooking time has a lot to do with pickles getting soft when they are canned especially when the spears tended to be rather small.

I try to use the cucumbers as fresh as possible when I pickle them, usually within a day or two of harvesting.  Just like dehydrating, the freshest veggies makes the prettiest and tastiest preserved product.  This harvest only included a total of ten cucumbers which I soaked in iced salt water for about 12 hours before I canned them.  I made sure to rinse them well since I have learned that really salty pickles are what you get when you don't rinse them before canning.  This evening I made a full batch of pickling brine.  I have found that it is easier to reheat some premade brine than making a full new batch each time.  I think that cucumbers will be coming in pretty steady for the next few weeks, so it won't sit long.  I just make sure to jar it up when it's hot and keep it in the fridge until I'm ready to use more. 

The first two jars of pickles.  Can't wait to try them out.

 

I have only started canning produce in the last few years so I am no where near what I would describe an expert.  I just follow the recipies in the Ball Home Preserving book and through trial and error have found a few recipies that I happen to like.  As my garden grows from year to year I will try different methods of preservation to see how I like them.  Lucky for me I already know how much I love pickles, so that will always be something I will try to make every year.  So far almost every batch has turned out slightly different so I am really trying to be more consistant with the way I make pickles this year.