This is my first batch of puttin' up pickles. I've done fridge pickles before, but with this CSA I already take up a ton of fridge space, so I wanted to give this a try. It takes a little more time, but these will be shelf stable for a while- according to the recipe I should wait at least six weeks to open the jar. Magic!
The recipe is from The Pickled Pantry from Andrea Chesman. I haven't had a chance to read through the whole book but skimming I came upon a section for recipes by the jar. These can be scaled, sure, but I seldom have the ingredients for more than a jar or two of jams/pickles/etc so it's great to have that option.
I followed the recipe as well as I could. Didn't have the raisins so just left them out. My cucumbers were on the (very very) large size. I didn't feel I could pack the cucumbers AND onions in without a lot of air gaps so while they were present for the initial soaking, the onions did not make it into the jar. I'm getting a few more heirloom cucumbers in today's delivery, so I'll focus on finding some longer/thinner guys for another batch.
I'll update once I actually open these guys up...but that won't be until at least September :)
Anyway- what excited me most about doing this was a reason to play with my new toy: a 4th burner pot!
I first heard of this lovely pot via a post on food in jars.
And while I've enjoyed experiments with small batch
canning, the ball canning kit with its 21 quart pot is INSANE to use for
just a few half-pints of jam. I tried an impromptu method with my currant jam
but was less than happy with the process, so it's nice to have
something a little simpler. It's three quarts and holds two regular
half-pint jars (or a lone pint) very well. Expect to see a lot more of it in upcoming posts.
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