Chuck Zumbrun

Tales from Skunk Hill

Dill Pickles

We planted 4 cucumber plants this spring. They all froze in a late frost. Then we planted 4 more. All but one of froze in an even later frost. But the one surviving vine is producing cucumbers with a vengeance. I made 5 pints of pickle relish last week and I made dill pickles today.

Ingredients
Ingredients

The dill is from our garden too, the dill plants are going great this year. There’s not a lot of cucumbers there, but it was enough to make 3 pints, a nice quantity for us.

Finished Product
Finished Product

I tried a low-temperature pasteurization technique where you process the jars for 30 minutes while holding the water temperate at 180 degrees. It’s supposed to result in a crispier pickle. I’m anxious to try some, but I always feel like I should hoard the jars until winter and eat fresh from the garden now.

4 responses to “Dill Pickles”

  1. anne Avatar
    anne

    looks like very little liquid in the jars as well, let me know if they are crisp.

  2. Missy Avatar
    Missy

    That’s what I was thinking, Anne. I also wondered if they turned white or if that is just an artifact of the picture taking process?

  3. chuck Avatar
    chuck

    There’s liquid to the specified 1/2 inch of head room. These cukes are very light colored. The pickle relish I made looks almost like an onion relish or something.

    They taste like any other cucumber though.

    Two days later here I picked another 4 pounds off that vine. Dill pickle relish, here I come!

  4. Missy Avatar
    Missy

    You know, I’ve heard that pickle relish ships well.

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