Homemade Gherkins
 
 
Recipe type: Preserving
Ingredients
  • 8 pounds of baby cucumbers
  • ½ cup of pickling salt
  • 8 cups of sugar
  • 6 cups of 5% vinegar
  • ½ tsp of turmeric
  • 2 tsp of celery seed
  • 2 tsp of pickling spice
  • 1 tsp of allspice (whole not ground)
  • cheese cloth to make a spice bag
Instructions
  1. Day one:
  2. Scrub cucumbers well using scrub brush.
  3. Trim a small amount off each end of the cucumbers.
  4. Rinse well and place in a large glass or plastic bowl.
  5. Dissolve 4 tablespoons of pickling salt in 24 cups of water and bring to a boil.
  6. Pour hot liquid over the cucumbers.
  7. Let stand over night.
  8. Day two:
  9. Drain the cucumbers discarding brine.
  10. Dissolve remaining in salt in 24 cups of water and bring to a boil.
  11. Pour hot liquid over cucumbers.
  12. Let stand over night.
  13. Day three:
  14. Drain cucumbers and discard brine.
  15. Poke the cucumbers with a fork.
  16. Build a spice bundle with the spices in a few layers of cheese cloth and secure with a piece of butchers twine.
  17. Combine 3 cups of sugar with 3 cups of vinegar in a medium size saucepan, add the turmeric. Add the spice bundle to the vinegar and bring to a boil.
  18. Discard the spice bundle and pour hot liquid over the cucumbers, weight and let stand 6-8 hours or over night.
  19. Day four:
  20. Drain cucumbers reserving the brine.
  21. Place the brine in a medium saucepan add 2 cups of sugar and 1 cup of vinegar.
  22. Bring to a boil. Pour hot liquid over the cucumbers, weight and let stand over night.
  23. Day five:
  24. Drain cucumbers reserving the brine.
  25. Place the brine in a medium saucepan add 2 cups of sugar and 1 cup of vinegar.
  26. Bring to a boil.
  27. Pour hot liquid over the cucumbers, weight and let stand over night.
  28. Day six:
  29. Sterilize the number of jars needed.
  30. Place lids and screw bands in a small saucepan and heat no the burner keeping warm until needed.
  31. Drain cucumbers reserving brine.
  32. Place the brine in a medium saucepan and add 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of vinegar.
  33. Bring to a boil.
  34. Pack cucumbers into hot jars to within a ½ inch of the opening.
  35. Using a canning funnel top each jar with hot pickling brine.
  36. Add lids and screw bands only until finger tight.
  37. Place in a hot water canner and process 20 minutes.
Recipe by Nutmeg Disrupted at https://nutmegdisrupted.com/homemade-gherkins/