The Necessities
• Mason jars – you will need about some jars
• Large canning pot
• Canning kit (canning tongs, jar lifter, etc…)
Homemade Bread & Butter Pickles
People truly love bread and butter pickles. I think it has to do with them being both sweet and tangy and if done right also crunchy! They are perfectly paired with some sharp cheddar cheese.
Prep Time 45 mins
Cook Time 15 mins
Total Time 2 days
Equipment
• Mason jars and lids
• Jar lifter
• Stockpot
• Colander
Ingredients
• 2-3 lbs Cucumbers (even better if you grew them yourself)
• 1 Large sweet onion
• ¼ Cup Sea salt or Himalayan salt
• ½ Cup Water (distilled or tap…up to you)
• 2 Cups White vinegar
• 1 Cup Sugar
• 1 ½ Tbsp Mustard seeds
• 1 Tsp Celery seeds
• 1 Tsp Turmeric
Instructions
Prepare the pickles
1. Chop the pickles into slices as thick or thin as your heart desires and put them in a strainer in the sink.
2. Slice up the onion and add it to the strainer.
3. Cover the pickles in the 1/4 cup salt, mixing them up so they are all coated.
4. Leave them to sit for 1-2 hours.
5. Give them a very quick rinse.
6. Line a cookie sheet (or 2, or 3) with a paper towel and lay the slices out in a single layer.
7. Cover with another layer of paper towel and leave them to sit overnight. ***Don’t skip this! This is the step that makes them crunchy.
Sterilize the jars
1. Fill the large pot with lots of water and bring to a boil.
2. Once boiling carefully lower enough of the jars (and lids) to fill the pot and boil for 10 minutes.
3. Once the 10 minutes is up, carefully remove them from the boiling water and place them on a tea towel on the counter.
Make the brine
Combine the water, vinegar, sugar, mustard seeds, celery seeds and turmeric in a pot and boil until all the sugar is dissolved.
Fill the jars
Fill the jar with as many pickles as you can. You want them jammed in as much as possible as this keeps them from floating above the brine OR you can get yourself a pickle pebble. Pour the hot brine mixture into the jar (using the canning funnel if you have one) until the brine is approximately 1/2″ from the rim.
Seal the jars
1. Bring the water to a boil again and then carefully lower the sealed jars into the boiling water so that they are covered by water and boil them for 10 minutes.
2. Remove the jars and set them aside to cool.
3. Listen for them popping/sealing (the center of the lid will be indented) if any don’t then pop them in the fridge and eat them first..
That’s it, you are now the proud owner of some crunchy bread and butter pickles. You can pop these guys into the cupboard or pantry and let them sit awhile so the flavours can all meld together.
Happy canning!
