Summer Dilly Pickles
For this project, I was so proud that for the first time since I started canning in 2010, I grew the cucumbers, garlic and dill for my pickles!!! (Shoutout to @j_wookie @nickip13 @pdxoystersocial @monajohnson for inspiring me and getting me started on food preservation back when we all worked for @portlandfarmers market ✨🔮🔥🙏)
Homegrown baby cucumber in a hoop house on W side of my Eureka yard (coastal, USDA planting zone 9b). Summer 2021
Dill flowers grown in a plastic Costco pot in the SE corner of my yard
Garlic grown in 4’ x 4’ bed, uncovered in Eureka yard; planted late in January (first experiment growing garlic in 2021)
Finished cucumbers grown in hoophouse kitchen garden (June- September 2021). I generally like the small ones best, and made the fatter ones into slicers.
I generally followed the refrigerator pickle recipe from @deannacat3 over at the @homesteadandchill blog here: https://homesteadandchill.com/crunchy-refrigerator-pickles-recipe/
I also in other years have followed the vinegar/water/salt ratios and recipe from the book Food in Jars: Preserving In Small Batches Year Round by Marisa McClellan. This is a great recipe for when I want to preserve for shelf stable cucumbers via hot water bath format.
A few simple twists, tips, and changes:
I didn’t have grape leaves, so I left that step out, though I’ve done it in the past and seems to preserve the crunchy texture in the cucumbers.
Instead, I added the freshly harvested cucumbers to a cold ice bath for 10- 15 minutes; this is supposed to crisp them up before the heating process of canning and I think it makes a worthwhile impact.
I skipped the mustard seeds and chili flakes (didn’t have them).
I used exclusively apple cider vinegar because that’s what I had on hand.