6/27/2019 – Inspired by a recipe found on the net that came from the unavailable site southernkrazed.com. See updates below and how this could be a spicy bread and butter pickle. This made good pickles that need more tweaking to be more crisp. But, they are worth trying again..so we said but then in the 2020 season decided to not try them again. Could be the dry dill was the problem.
We measured the sliced cucumbers in 4 heaping quart measuring cups. That filled the four quart jars. One of the jar’s bottom broke off minutes after being put into the boiling water bath.
- 12 cups sliced cucumbers
- 4 ½ cups water
- 4 cups vinegar
- 3 tbsp canning salt
- 8 tsp dill seed*
- 4 tsp mustard seed
- 8 tsp Kit Whols’ Creole Seasoning
- Pickle crisping agent*
- Combine the vinegar with the salt and water in a large saucepan. Bring mixture to a simmer and stir until salt is dissolved.
- Remove the jars from canner. Pack the jars with the sliced cucumbers. Add 1 tsp Cajun seasoning, ½ tsp mustard seed, and 1 tsp of dill to each jar. Add 1/8 tsp Mrs. Wages calcium chloride crisping agent.
- Then, pour the vinegar mixture over the top. Using a knife, slide it around the edges to remove all the air bubbles.
- Top off with vinegar mixture, being careful to leave ½” headspace in the jar.
- Place each of the jars in the water bath canner boiling for 15 minutes.
7/5/2019, 8 days later – We tried the pickles at room temperature and they were not mushy. The chips/slices were a little limp and only a little crunchy. The dill flavor was too mild. Other recipes used 1 tbsp of dill seed in a quart. That is 30% more dill. The amount of Kit Whols’ Creole Seasoning did not impart a particular tone and was not spicy/hot. Put them into the refer to chill and hope they firm up.
7/6/2019 – They have been in the refer for 24 hours. They are a bit firmer and eating them was a nicer experience. They taste like bread and butter pickles without the sweetness. Adding more crisping agent would make them a good option for a B&B pickle. Also would want to add more creole/cajun seasoning. Also could add fresh garlic. Better yet, add fresh garlic and fresh onion along with red pepper flakes. Below is what we could test for 4 quarts or 8 pints.
- 12 cups sliced cucumbers
- 4 ½ cups water
- 4 cups vinegar
- 3 tbsp canning salt
- 2 rounded tsp of dill seed in each pint or one rounded tablespoon in each quart
- 8 tsp mustard seed in 8 pints or a scant tablespoon per quart [this is double the mustard seed as we like mustard]
- 3 cups of onion slices
- 2 cloves of garlic per pint or 4 cloves per quart
- 1/2 tablespoon of red pepper flakes per pint or 1 tablespoon per quart
- Pickle crisping agent – 1/2 tsp per pint or 1 tsp per quart
