Our Connections in the Kitchen
About the Recipe
Ingredients
3 1/2 qts. (2") pickling cucumbers (about 4lbs.)
1 cup coarse pickling salt
2 qts. boiling water (for brine)
1/2 tsp. powdered alum
5 cup vinegar
3 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. celery seeds]
4 (2') sticks cinnamon
1 1/2 cup sugar, added gradually (1/2 cup per day, days 12-14)
Preparation
Wash cucumbers carefully; cut in lengthwise halves and place in a stone crock, glass, pottery, or enamel-lined (unchipped) pan.
Prepare brine by dissolving the salt in boiling water; pour over cucumbers. Weight the cucumbers down with a plate almost as large as the crock, and set a stone or paraffined brick (not marble or limestone) on the plate to keep them under the brine. Let stand 1 week.
Day 8: Drain; pour 2 gts. fresh boiling water over cucumbers, Let stand 24 hours.
Day 9: Drain; pour 2 gts. fresh boiling water mixed with the alum over cucumbers. Let stand 24 hours.
Day 10: Drain; pour 2 gts. fresh boiling water over cucumbers. Let stand 24 hours.
Day 11: Drain. Combine vinegar, 3 c. sugar, celery seeds, and cinnamon sticks; heat to boiling and pour over cucumbers.
Days 12-14: Each morning, drain and reserve the liquid, reheat it, stir in ye. sugar, and pour back over the cucumbers.
On day 14, pack the pickles into hot jars. Remove the cinnamon sticks; pour the boiling-hot liquid over the pickles and adjust lids. Process in a boiling water bath.