Pickles
Grandma Rachel's Homemade Pickles
This recipe was perfected by Rachel Knight of Denison, Tx. It was passed on to me by my dad and 2 uncles who grew up on these pickles, and when done right, there are none better. Read on for the recipe...
I have made a few modifications here and there but always return to the core recipe as it is truly the best, but I now substitute pickling lime for the alum since in side by side testing I found the lime to produce a crisper pickle. (Go here for my step by step pictorial) Ingredients: pickling cucumbers Alum or Pickling Lime Pickling or Kosher salt at least 1 quart white vinegar 2 dill heads and/or 2 tsp dill seed per quart jar (I like to do both) 2 dill sprigs per jar 1 tsp peppercorns per jar 2 cloves garlic per jar 1 red jalapeno per jar (In examining my jar from last year- I noticed that I also added 1 tsp black and yellow mustard seeds) filtered water Yield: It is hard to give an exact yield since the size of the cucumbers, the jars and how you pack the jars makes a huge difference, but Since you have 6 quarts of liquid, you can probably at least count on 12 quarts of pickles. Like I said the amount of brine needed per jar will vary. With my last batch, I used a 1 1/2 times batch of brine and got 4 1/2 gallons of pickles (18 Quarts) with a little brine left over. (Where can I find Pickling Supplies?) Step 1: Buy a bunch of small cucumbers and the other ingredients- and gather enough jars to accommodate all of the pickles. Step 2: Soak the cucumbers overnight in a large bowl in a solution of 2 tsp alum and enough water to cover. (this is where the recipe was a little fuzzy- as the solution strength depends on the amount of water) or Soak the cucumbers overnight in a solution of 1 cup pickling lime to 1 gallon of water. (this step can also be done with just a solution of salted water like 1/2 cup to a gallon, but really- the lime works the best) Step 3: Wash the soaking mixture off of the pickles. With the...