- 8 lbs. of 3- to 4-inch pickling cucumbers (may be canned as strips or slices)
- l/3 c. canning or pickling salt
- 4-l/2 c. sugar
- 3-l/2 c. vinegar (5 percent)
- 2 tsp. celery seed
- l T. whole allspice
- 2 T. mustard seed
Wash cucumbers. Cut l/l6-inch off blossom end and discard, but leave l/4 inch of stem attached. Slice or cut in strips, if desired. Place in bowl and sprinkle with l/3 cup salt. Cover with 2 inches of crushed or cubed ice. Refrigerate 3 to 4 hours. Add more ice as needed. Drain well. Combine sugar, vinegar, celery seed, allspice, and mustard seed in 6-quart kettle. Heat to boiling. Hot Pack: Add cucumbers and heat slowly until vinegar solution returns to boil. Stir occasionally to make sure mixture heats evenly. Fill sterile jars, leaving l/2-inch headspace. Adjust lids. Process 5 minutes in a boiling water canner.
Raw Pack: Fill jars, leaving l/2-inch headspace. Add hot pickling syrup, leaving l/2-inch headspace. Adjust lids and process pints l0 minutes and quarts l5 minutes in boiling water canner or use the low temperature pasteurization treatment. After processing and cooling, jars should be stored 4 to 5 weeks to develop ideal flavor.
- Yields: About 7 to 9 pints