Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Crunchy Country Sweet Pickles


This recipe comes from Eufaula Alabama.  Gail Carroll's mother Peggy Scott gave me this recipe after I raved about her sweet pickles ... she was a great Southern cook and could work magic in the kitchen.

No heating or sealing required ... you can make a 1/2 recipe if you like

Ingredients

 Pickling Cucumbers (about 20 to 24 lbs) 
2 lbs. plain or pickling salt (do not use iodized salt)
1 gallon white vinegar
6 oz powdered alum (buy it on the internet at myspicesage.com)
10 lbs. sugar
4 tablespoon pickling spices

Use whole medium size cucumbers, wash thoroughly.  In a 5 gallon plastic bucket or pottery crock; put enough cucumbers to come 3/4 full.  Dissolve 2 lbs plain salt in l gallon of water, pour over cucumbers.  Weight down and keep them covered, a washed rocks inside a glass pie plate does fine.  Cover with a clean dish towel and let stand in a dark cool place for 2 weeks (14 days).

Take cucumbers out, wash them, also the bucket.  Slice cucumbers about 1/2 inch thick and put back in the bucket.  Cover with alum water, about 6 oz alum to 1 gallon of water.  Weigh down, cover and let stand for 24 hours.

Take cucumbers out, rinse them and the bucket.  Put them back in the bucket and cover with 1 gallon of vinegar.  Let stand for 24 hours.

Next drain vinegar off cucumbers and discard all but 4 cups of vinegar.  Tie spices in a cloth and simmer gently (with lid on) in reserved vinegar for about 10 minutes.

Pour the 10 lbs of sugar and spice solution over the cucumbers, stir gently (use your hands ... it is the only way to get to the bottom of the bucket).  Stir once or twice a day for the next few days, leave in bucket until the sugar is completely dissolved and the juices are rising to the top. It is best to wait about a week before packing in jars.

Picles are done.  Sterilize jars in the dishwasher (I use canning jars, mayonnaise jars and spaghetti sauce jars), stir pickles one more time and tightly pack in jars adding enough syrup to cover pickles.  These don't have to heat sealed -- the last for a couple of years on the cupboard shelf.

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