Garlic Dills.
Bread and Butter Pickles.
Sweet Gherkins.
Pickled Beets
Pickled Onions
Pickled Radishes
The list goes on..

Who doesn’t love a good pickle?

I have added dill pickles to my canning repertoire this year.  This being my first attempt at making dills , I am hopeful they will come out exactly like I envisioned them.  A crisp, garlicky dill pickle to grace my hamburger or to compliment my grilled cheese.  We shall find out in a few weeks after the required sitting time.

I had emailed my internet gal pal out west for her pickle recipe, but she was on a short vacay and said she would get back to me upon her return.  Since I had already purchased my cukes at the market last week (and I am impatient as all get out), I ended up searching high and low for another trusted recipe and came by one from Canadian Living (www.canadianliving.com).  I love their monthly magazine and their website is a huge resource not just for cooking, but home decorating, lifestyle, etc.  Their recipes are pretty much no-fail, tested until perfect even, so I knew I could count on their recipe for making a good batch of pickles.

I also love pickled serranos and jalapeños.  So I utilized their Dill Pickle Spears recipe and added one half of a hot pepper to each jar.  Really looking forward to tasting the end result.

I started off with a 3 liter basket of mini cucumbers (about 3 to 4″ long), after scrubbing them, it was time to soak in them in a ice/salt water brine for up to 8 hours.  Apparently this helps the cucumbers to retain their crunch.

While you are waiting for the cukes, prepare your garlic cloves, dill heads and peppers.  I went and pilfered my neighbours garden for the dill as he has so many dill plants that he said I should just help myself to whatever I needed.  Love neighbours like that.

Once you have all your ingredients prepped, sterilize your jars and lids and put one clove, one dill head and one half of a hot pepper into each jar.

Pack each jar full with the cuke spears.

Prepare your pickling brine as per the recipe link above  (* note – double the pickling amount as after I had filled 5 jars, I ran out and had to make more) and fill each jar to within a half-inch head space.

Process in a water canning bath for 10 minutes (start timing when water returns to boiling), remove and let rest undisturbed for 24 hours.  Ensure jars are sealed, label and store for 3 weeks before using.

I can’t wait for pickles to accompany my grilled cheese sammie.  I will report back here in early September as to the result so stay tuned!