Great-Grandma Leora's Lime Pickles

• Vegan
• Gluten free

• Produce

  • 6 Cucumbers, large
  • 2 cups Pickling lime

• Baking & Spices

  • 1 tsp Celery seed
  • 1 tsp Cloves, whole
  • 1 tbsp Pickling spice
  • 3 tbsp Salt
  • 10 cups Sugar

• Oils & Vinegars

  • 2 qt Vinegar

• Liquids

  • 2 gal Water

Found on lifeinlapehaven.com

Description

Directions

• Clean cucumbers well. Dont peel.
• Slice cucumbers about 1/4 inch thick.
• Mix pickling lime with 2 gallons of water in a large, non-reactive pot. (My grandma uses a large crock).
• Soak cucumber slices in the lime water for 24 hours.
• Thoroughly rinse cucumber slices in clean cold water in at least 3 changes of water until the water is clear. It is very important to rinse the lime completely off the cucumbers. Leaving lime on them will neutralize the acidity of your pickles and could lead to sickness.
• After a final rinse, soak the cucumbers for 3 hours in a fresh bath of cold water.
• Clean and dry your canning jars. Make sure there are no chips along the mouth of the jar as it will affect the seal.
• Place the jars, mouth up (easier to grab), in the oven. Set the oven to 200 degrees.
• Place the canning jar lids and rings in a small pan. Fill about 3/4 full with water. Bring to near boiling then reduce the heat to low. (Boiling the water can cause the lid seals to stick together.)
• In a large, non-reactive stock pot, mix your brine solution: vinegar, salt, and sugar.
• Into a cooking sachet, piece of cheesecloth, or clean washcloth (thats what my grandma uses), add your pickling spice, celery seed, and whole cloves. Tie off the end of your spice bag.
• Add the spice bag to the brine.
• Add the cucumbers to the brine. Brine should come up to cover most of the cucumbers, but the cucumbers will cook down so they dont all have to be covered.
• Cook cucumbers over medium-high heat until the slices start to become clear. The cucumbers will go from a bright cucumber green to a darker pickle green as the white inside becomes translucent or clear. Stir occasionally to ensure even cooking. Depending on the size of your pot, it may take about 30 minutes for all the slices to cook through. However, slices will start to be clear after a 15 minutes, and you can start to fill your jars then.
• Use an oven mitt or towel to remove a hot, sterilized jar from the oven.
• Place a funnel over the mouth of the jar, and using a slotted spoon, transfer cooked pickles to the jar. Shake the jar occasionally to help the pickles settle.
• Once the jar is full of pickles, place a small strainer over the mouth of the jar and ladle brine into the jar, filling it to just where the neck of the jar starts. (The strainer will help keep excess seeds out of the brine).
• Wipe the mouth of the jar with a clean cloth.
• Using tongs, carefully select a lid from the small pan and place it on the jar. Add a ring, and using a towel or oven mitt to hold it, tighten the ring onto the jar.
• Set jar aside to cool. Continue filling jars until all the pickles are canned. You can save the brine also.
• Jar lids will pop as the jar cools, sealing your jar. Dont push on the top of the lids as you are sealing them or while they are cooling, as this can affect the seal.
• Pickles are ready to be eaten after 24 hours.
• Make sure you remove the canning rings from the jars within a day or two. Also, you may need to wipe of the jars once they have cooled as the brine is VERY sticky.