BREAD and BUTTER PICKLES

I love bread and butter pickles and when I picked up 10lbs of cucumbers at the market this past weekend, it was a must-make recipe. This is another recipe from the mother-in-law and it was so easy to make! I can’t wait to crack a jar (wait around 4-6 weeks before cracking open)!

The bread and butter pickles recipe made approximately 2.5 to 3 litres. I used two 500ml jars, one full 1l jar, and one 1l almost full (approximately 750ml).

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Bread and Butter Pickles

Ingredients

• 8 cups cucumbers thinly sliced
• 6 medium onions sliced
• 1/4 cup pickling salt
• 4 cups cracked ice
• 2 1/2 cups vinegar
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
• 1/2 teaspoon peppercorns
• 1 tablespoon mustard seed

Instructions

• Wash your jars in very hot soapy water (or put through cycle in the dishwasher) and set aside.
• Set the rack and jars (sans lids) into your canning pot and fill it with water (I like to fill the jars first so they don't float up). Put onto the stove and bring to a boil.
• Put a small pot of water and place the lids and tops in, covering with water, bring to a boil, then turn off the heat.
• Cut the ends off the cucumbers and use a mandolin to cut thin slices. I used the slicing blade of a food processor to slice the onions.
• Combine the cucumbers, onions, salt, and ice and let sit for a minimum of 3 hours, best overnight.
• Rinse the cucumber and onions under cold water. Drain the mixture well and set aside for a moment.
• In a large pot, combine sugar, mustard seed, celery seed, ground turmeric, peppercorns, and vinegar. Heat just to a boil.
• Add the drained cucumber and onion slices to the large pot and return to boil. Reduce heat and keep warm as you fill your jars.
• Pull your jars out of the boiling water with the canning tongs, dumping the water out of the jar.
• Put a canning funnel on the jar then use the ladle to fill them with the pickle mixture, leaving 1/2 inch of headspace, and put the lids on tightly. You may need to wipe the rims of the jars first if any brine spills over, before putting the lids on.
• Use the canning tongs to place the filled jars back into the canning pot and set a timer for 10 minutes. Make sure water covers the jars completely!
• Remove the jars using the canning tongs and tilt slightly to remove any water from the top and set aside to finish cooling and sealing.
• You’ll know when the cans are sealed by the distinctive popping sound they make.
• Wait patiently for a few weeks for full flavour! It’s a long wait, but 4-6 weeks is perfect.