Pickles for Beginners

 Some of my friends are interested in pickling.  It took me a few tries to get it right.  Here is to help you get it right the first time!

Wash jars in hot soapy water.  Then either boil the jars or run through dishwasher, on hot hot cycle with no soap.  You can also put the lids in the dishwasher too to ensure they are sterilized.
If you didn't know....there are three sizes of jars lids:  mason (the smaller ones, left side of picture), GEM (slightly bigger), and wide mouth (larger, right side of picture).

Make sure you have lids for jars before going any further!

This recipe was given to me by my mother....from her parents.....

In EACH jar put: some dill weed (yellow parts too), 1 clove garlic (more or less depending on your taste), 1 tbsp of chopped onion. 

Ensure cucumbers are washed.  Poke each of them with a fork 1-2 times (depending on the size)

Stuff the jars REALLY full with cucumbers.  Your thumbs will be sore!  You can see we also did some beans and carrots also.

For the brine: 1L pickling vinegar, 3L water, 1c pickling salt, 1/2c sugar.  Bring to a boil.

****You MUST use pickling vinegar because it is more concentrated. Pickling salt doesn't have iodine in it!****

For the jars seen above (3 bags of cucumbers, 30lbs) I used 3 batches of brine.

Pour the hot brine over the pickles to just below the rim of the jar (about 3-5cm).  Place the lids on to a tightness of just closed.  Do not tighten so the lids will seal.

If the lids do not seal (you should hear popping sounds!), then place the jars in a pressure cooker or pot of boiling water to heat up.  This will help them to seal.
Good luck.