With the cucumbers still producing prolifically, I decided to make some more pickles. Side note: what other ways of preserving cucumbers are there besides pickles? Are there any? I did some more refrigerator dills, but also some bread and butters. I tweaked the recipe a bit because I didn’t have all the ingredients called for, and I wasn’t so concerned that I was about to wait to get to a store to buy the required items.
In any case, the actual recipe comes from the Ball Blue Book, and is probably similar anywhere else you find it.
Bread and Butter Pickles
- 4 pounds 4- to 6-inch cucumbers, cut into 1/4-inch slices
- 2 pounds onions, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup canning salt
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 tablespoons mustard seed
- 2 teaspoons turmeric
- 2 teaspoons celery seed
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 1 teaspoon peppercorns
- 3 cups vinegar
Combine cucumber and onion slices in a large bowl, layering with salt: cover with ice cubes. Let stand 1 1/2 hours. Drain; rinse; drain again. Combine remaining ingredients in a large saucepot; bring to a boil. Add drained cucumbers and onions and return to a boil.
Pack hot pickles and liquid into hot jars, 1/2-inch headspace. Process 10 minutes in a boiling-water canner.
I used ground mustard, and I didn’t have celery seed or straight turmeric, so I improvised and used a little curry powder. Frankly, I have no idea what true bread and butter pickles are supposed to taste like, so I don’t know how different they’ll be. I’ll probably still let them sit for a couple more weeks, but I’ll let you know when I try some how they turned out. Maybe I’ll patent a new pickle variety.
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