Fresh-Pack Dill Pickles

Yield:

7 servings

Time:

Ingredients

  • 8 lbs of 3- to 5-inch pickling cucumbers
  • 2 gallons water
  • 1 1/2 cups canning salt
  • 1 1/2 quarts vinegar
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 quarts water
  • 2 tablespoons mixed pickling spice
  • 3 to 5 tablespoons whole mustard seed (1 to 2 tsp. per pint jar)
  • 14 heads fresh dill (about 2 heads per pint jar)

Instructions

  1. Wash cucumbers. Cut a 1/16-inch slice off blossom end and discard, but leave 1/4 inch of stem attached.
  2. Dissolve salt in 2 gallons water. Pour over cucumbers and let stand 12 hours. Drain.
  3. Combine vinegar, 1/2 cup salt, sugar and 2 quarts water.
  4. Add mixed pickling spices tied in a clean white cloth. Heat to boiling.
  5. Fill jars with cucumbers. Add 1 to 2 tsp. mustard seed and 2 heads fresh dill per pint. Cover with boiling pickling solution, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.
  6. Adjust lids. Process pints for 10 minutes and quarts for 15 minutes in a boiling water canner.