In a Pickle

As a general rule I hate pickles. I think of them as innocent, murdered cucumbers. They are slimey, slippery, sour disks. Ew, I hate pickles...sigh...but I love my daddy and he loves pickles. Especially bread-and-butter pickles.

So I spent a good part of Sunday making a huge batch of these strangely-named pickles. Eleven pints, to be exact. He claims that they are good as a side condiment to a variety of dishes, including black eyed peas. That sounds really weird to me (why ruin yummy peas with gross pickles?!), but I'll be adventurous give it a try. As long as I have a huge glass of milk on hand as a chaser.

Anyway, I used the recipe in Keeping the Harvest. My dad gave me his copy when I started my own garden (and quite honestly, became obsessed/fascinated with preserving food).

Bread and Butter Pickles

• 6 pounds cucumbers
• 1 pound onions
• 2 large, peeled garlic cloves
• 1/3 cup canning salt
• 2 trays ice cubes
• 4 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons turmeric
• 1 1/2 teaspoons celery seed
• 2 tablespoons mustard seed
• 3 cups cider vinegar
  

Soak the cucumbers, onions, and garlic with canning salt and ice cubes for 3 hours:
Remove garlic, drain, rinse, and mix into a hot pot of vinegar, spices, and sugar. I actually doubled the vinegar, sugar, and spices once I realized just how big a volume SIX whole pounds of cucumbers really is.
Pack into jars and process in boiling water for 10 minutes.
Then, I guess, you're supposed to enjoy them. I'm skeptical about this last step.