6/10/2021 – On 6/23 & 6/24 we tried one jar of the blend below with the cayenne peppers and they were great.

Finally we think we can make dill pickles. Our recipe below was inspired by one at TheChunkyChef.com.

Ingredients

First 2 quarts:

• pickling cucumbers cut into spears enough to make 2 quarts
• Brine
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 cup white vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp kosher salt
  • 1-1/2 tsp granulated sugar
• 1 tsp dried dill seed in each jar
• 6-8 cloves garlic peeled, smashed, roughly chopped
• 5 whole black peppercorns in each jar
• 1 tsp whole yellow mustard seeds in each jar
• 2 dried cayenne peppers from our garden divided between the two jars
• pinch celery seed in each jar

Second 2 quarts as an experiment – Made the same except for sliced fresh jalapenos instead of cayenne peppers and same amount of dill weed instead of dill seed.

Instructions

• Slice cucumbers into typical spears and slices about 1/4″ thick.
• In a saucepan, make the brine by adding water, vinegar, salt, and sugar, and heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar and salt have dissolved. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
• While brine is cooling, add cucumbers to jars. Make sure to leave enough room for the brine and other ingredients.
• Add dill, garlic, mustard seed, black peppercorns, red pepper flakes, and celery seed.
• Pour in enough brine to cover the cucumbers, making sure to leave a 1/2″ or so at the top. Seal jars to be airtight.
• Refrigerate for at least 5 days.