We love pickles at our house. I have loved pickles from as far back as I can remember. We used to have a big shopping place called The French Market. It had an aisle all around the perimeter was ringed with shops. Then there was a huge courtyard in the middle. Most of the shops sold some sort of food. You could go and get what you wanted and sit in the courtyard and eat. There was one pizza place that always had a barrel of huge dill pickles. If I bought nothing else, I would get a pickle. My friends used to laugh at me, because even if we went for ice cream, I got a pickle.
A member of my family made a bread and butter pickle that was the best I ever tasted. She moved on and I kept trying different recipes looking for "that" flavor. People would tell me how good their recipe was. I would taste their pickles and they were good, but they were not what I was looking for. After many years went by, I figured, I just remembered them wrong. I was about to give up, but asked her daughter if she would ask her mom for the recipe. She said that she would in exchange for a jar of pickles. :) I told her it was a deal. She got the recipe and gave it to me. That year I was so excited. I followed the recipe and got the pickles canned. It was time for a taste test. I was so worried that they wouldn't be what I remembered. I took a pickle slice and ate it..... That was IT!!! It was the flavor I remembered. I have yet to find anyone who does not like them. Here is the recipe.
Bread & Butter Pickles
6 cups Vidalia onion pieces
4 quarts cucumber slices
1/3 cup Real salt or sea salt
Mix the cucumbers and onions together in large pot. Sprinkle the salt on and cover with ice. Let sit for 3 hours. Drain well, but do not rinse.
Mix:
5 cups sugar
3 cups red wine vinegar
2 Tblsp. Mustard seeds
1 ½ tsp. turmeric
1 ½ tsp. celery seed
Add this mixture to the cucumbers and onions. Bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and pack into hot pint jars.
Water bath 10 mins.
We also tried several dill pickle recipes. We did not find one that really stood out. Someone invited us over for dinner. One of the things they served were dill pickles. When it came time to make pickles again, my husband mentioned how much he liked her pickles. So, I called and got her recipe and that is what we have been using since.
Dill Pickles
Slice your cucumbers and put in cold water for an hour. I put a few ice cubes on top.
Make your brine:
Boil together –
3 quarts of water
1 quart of apple cider vinegar
1 cup Real salt or sea salt
Put 1 garlic clove, 1 sprig of dill and 1 grape leaf (to keep them crisp) in each jar and then pack with the cucumber slices. Pour the brine over the pickles.
Water bath for 10 mins. Makes 7 quarts
