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Pickles

READ BEFORE MAKING PICKLES

Only fresh, firm, not too ripe products should be used for pickling. Cucumbers and green tomatoes shouls be small or medium-sized and freshly gathered. Use a good grade of vinegar, one with 4% to 6% acidity. Strength of vinegar is usually shown on label on bottle. If vinegar or bine is too weak, the pickles will spoil or become soft.

Pickling salt should be used for brines. Any pure granulated salt containing less than 1% chemicals added to prevent caking is satisfactory.

NOTE: When cold foods such as pickles are packed in jars without heating or processing, the KERR Screw Band should not be removed from the jar before storing as the Cap has not formed a vacuum seal and the Band is necessary to hold the Lid in place during storage.

Chop Suey Pickles

  • 6 large cucumbers, peeled
  • 11 medium onions
  • 3 large sweet green peppers
  • 3 large sweet red peppers
  • 1/2 cup salt
  • 1 pint vinegar
  • 3 tablespoons mixed spices
  • 1/2 pint water
  • 4 cups sugar
  • 2 tablespoons celery salt
  • 1 teaspoon curry powder

SLICE very thin the cucumbers, onions and peppers; sprinkle with 1/2 cup salt and add enough cold water to cover vegetables, let stand overnight. Drain thoroughly. Add the vinegar, mixed spices, water, sugar and celery salt, boil about 10 minutes. Add curry powder just before boiling time is up. Pack into sterilized KERR Jars and seal at once.

Cucumber-Onion Pickles

  • 12 large cucumbers
  • 6 medium onions
  • 1/4 cup salt
  • 1 quart vinegar
  • 2 cups brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon dry mustard
  • 1 tablespoon turmeric
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch

WASH, peel and slice cucumbers and onions. Cover them with the salt and let stand overnight. Bring vinegar and sugar to a boil. Sift together mustard, turmeric and cornstarch, mix with a little cold vinegar and add to vinegar and sugar. Drain cucumbers and onions from salt water. Put in vinegar solution and bring to a boil. Pack into sterilized KERR Jars and seal at once.

Cucumber Pickles

SOAK cucumbers overnight in cold water. Drain. Slice but not too thin. Make a syrup of:

  • 2 cups cider vinegar
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 teaspoon mustard seed
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon mixed spices

Bring to boil—then add cucumbers and boil about 3 minutes until they lose green look. Pack pickles solidly into sterilized KERR Jars, add 1 teaspoon salt to each quart, 1/2 onion sliced, cover with boiling syrup and seal at once.

Cucumber-Raisin Pickles

  • 4 cups sliced cucumbers
  • 1/2 cup salt
  • 1 cup white vinegar
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 6 tablespoons raisins
  • 1 tablespoon celery seed
  • 1 tablespoon mustard seed

SOAK cucumbers overnight in a salt solution made of 1/2 cup salt to 2 quarts water. Drain. Combine vinegar, sugar, raisins, celery seed and mustard seed. Heat to boiling. Add cucumbers. Boil 10 minutes. Pack into sterilized KERR Jars and seal at once.

Curry Pickles

  • 24 medium cucumbers (cubed or thinly sliced)
  • 1/2 cup salt
  • 8 cups water
  • 1 teaspoon curry powder
  • 2 cups vinegar
  • 2 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1/4 cup mustard seed
  • 1 tablespoon celery seed

WASH cucumbers. Drain, combine salt and water. Pour over cucumbers. Let stand 5 hours. Drain, rinse thoroughly, mix remaining ingredients. Heat to boiling, pour over cucumbers, heat to boiling and pack into sterilized KERR Jars and seal at once.

Delicious Pickles

WASH cucumbers, pack into sterilized KERR Jars. Solution (sufficient for 3 gallons of pickles in glass jars):

  • 1 gallon vinegar
  • 1/2 pound (16 tablespoons) dry mustard (work into paste with a little of the vinegar)
  • 1 cup salt

Pour cold over cucumbers in jars and seal at once. Store without removing screw bands.

Dill Pickles

SOAK medium cucumbers overnight in a brine made of 1 1/2 cups of salt to 4 quarts of water.

Make a canning brine of 10 quarts of water, 1 quart of vinegar and 2 cups of salt and boil 10 minutes. Let this brine stand overnight. In morning, drain cucumbers and place in sterilized KERR Jars with small bunches of dill. If desired, 1 cup of grated horseradish and 1 cup of mustard seed may be used with the dill by placing a small amount of each on each jar.

Pack cucumbers tight. Add small red pepper to each jar if desired. Cover cucumbers in jars with the cold canning brine, being sure brine covers cucumbers. Put on cap, screwing band tight. These will ferment for 3 or 4 days. When fermentation (bubbling) has ceased, store without removing screw bands.

Dill Pickles—Kosher Style

SOAK medium cucumbers 24 hours in a bine made of 1 cup salt to 8 cups water. Remove from brine and dry. Make a vinegar solution of 2 cups white vinegar to 3 cups water. Add 2 tablespoons of mixed pickling spices, and several small bunches of dill (as much as you like). Let come to the boiling point. Add the cucumbers and take from heat. Into each clean KERR Quart Jar place two cloves of garlic and 2 small hot peppers. Pack cucumbers in jar, with at least one small bunch of the dill. Put vinegar back on heat, bring to boil, pour over cucumbers in jar having the liquid covering the cucumbers, and seal at once.

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Dill Pickles—Fresh Kosher Style

  • 30 to 36 cucumbers (3 to 4 inches long)
  • 3 cups vinegar
  • 3 cups water
  • 6 tablespoons salt
  • Fresh or dried dill
  • Garlic
  • Mustard Seed

WASH the cucumbers. Make a brine of the vinegar, water and salt. Bring to boil. Place a generous layer of dill, 1/2 to 1 clove of garlic (sliced) and 1/2 tablespoon of mustard seed in bottom of each clean, KERR quart jar. Pack the cucumbers into the jars. When the jars are half filled with cucumbers add another layer of dill and complete the packing of the jars. Fill the jars to within 1/2 inch of the top with the boiling brine. Put KERR cap on jars, screwing the band firmly tight. Process 5 minutes in boiling water bath. Pickles will shrivel some after processing. They will later plump in sealed jar.

Dill Green Tomato Pickles—Kosher Style

  • Green tomatoes
  • Stalk celery
  • Sweet green peppers
  • Garlic
  • 2 quarts water
  • 1 quart vinegar
  • 1 cup salt
  • Dill to taste

USE small, firm green tomatoes. Pack into sterilized KERR Jars. Add to each quart jar a bud of garlic, 1 stalk of celery and 1 green pepper cut in fourths. Make a brine of the water, vinegar and salt and boil with the dill for 5 minutes. Pour the hot brine over the pickles in the jars and seal at once. These will be ready for use in 4 to 6 weeks. This amount of liquid fills about 6 quarts.

Dilled Pickled Okra

  • 3 pounds okra
  • 3 cups water
  • 3 cups vinegar (5% acidity)
  • 6 tablespoons salt
  • 12 heads green dill

USE small tender pods of okra, cut with as much stem as possible. Wash and drain. Prick okra and pack into clean KERR Jars. Place a small bunch of green dill in each jar with the okra. Boil water, vinegar and salt together until salt is dissolved. Fill jars with boiling hot brine. Put on cap, screwing the band firmly tight. Process jars 5 minutes in boiling water bath.

Fig Pickles

COVER 3 quarts figs with 2 quarts boiling water and allow to stand 5 minutes. Make syrup of:

  • 1 cup water
  • Small cheesecloth bag containing whole spices, cloves, stick cinnamon
  • 6 cups sugar
  • 1 cup vinegar

Drain figs and boil in this syrup 3 consecutive mornings 10 minutes each morning, then pack into clean KERR Jars. Put on cap, screwing the band firmly tight. Process in water bath, 10 minutes.

Green Tomato Pickles

  • 1 gallon green tomatoes (16 cups sliced)
  • 1/4 cup salt
  • 1/2 tablespoon powdered alum
  • 3 cups vinegar (5% acidity)
  • 1 cup water
  • 4 cups sugar
  • 1 tablespoon mixed spices
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon celery seed
  • 1/2 teaspoon allspice
  • 1 tablespoon mustard seed

SLICE tomatoes. Sprinkle with salt and allow to stand overnight. Next morning drain and pour 2 quarts of boiling water with 1/2 tablespoon of powdered alum over the tomatoes and let stand 20 minutes. Drain and cover with cold water and drain. Combine vinegar, water, sugar and spices (tie spices loosely in bag) and bring to a boil. Pour this over the tomatoes. Let stand in this solution overnight. Then drain and bring solution to boil and pour over tomatoes. Let stand overnight. On the third morning bring the pickles and solution to the boil. Pack into sterilized KERR Jars and seal at once.

Banana or Hungarian Peppers

THOROUGHLY wash peppers. Make small slit in each one in two places. Put the peppers in a brine made of 1 gallon water to 2 cups salt. Weight to hold peppers under brine. Next day, drain well and pack peppers into sterilized KERR Jars. Make a pickling solution of 1 gallon water, 1 cup salt, 1 cup vinegar, 1 clove garlic, 1 grape leaf and 1 bunch dill. Bring the solution to the boiling point, pour over peppers in jars, filling and sealing one jar at a time with boiling solution.

Ice Water Pickles

SIX pounds medium cucumbers (each cut in 4 to 8 pieces according to size of cucumbers). Soak in ice water 3 hours—drain, pack into sterilized KERR Jars. Add 6 pickling onions, 1 piece celery, 1 teaspoon mustard seed to each jar.

    Solution:
  • 3 quarts white vinegar
  • 1 cup salt
  • 3 cups sugar

Bring to boil, pour over cucumbers and seal at once. This makes 6 quarts. This is a salty-sour pickle.

KERR Krispy Lunch Pickles

  • 25 to 30 medium cucumbers
  • 8 large white onions
  • 2 large sweet peppers
  • 1/2 cup salt
  • 5 cups cider vinegar
  • 5 cups sugar (2 1/2 pounds)
  • 2 tablespoons mustard seed
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1/2 teaspoon cloves

WASH cucumbers and slice as thin as possible. Chop onions and peppers; combine with cucumbers and salt; let stand 3 hours and drain. Combine vinegar, sugar, and spices in large preserving kettle, bring to boil. Add drained cucumbers; heat thoroughly but do not boil. Pack while hot into sterilized KERR Jars and seal at once.

Mustard Pickles

  • 2 quarts tiny cucumbers not over 2 inches long
  • 2 quarts small white pearl onions
  • 2 quarts green string beans cut in half
  • 2 quarts green tomatoes coarsely chopped
  • 2 heads fresh cauliflower cut in small pieces
  • 1 small head white, hard cabbage

SPRINKLE with salt—let stand 24 hours—drain off brine and put pickles into preserving kettle.

    Add:
  • 1 ounce tumeric
  • 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons celery seed
  • 6 sweet peppers coarsely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons mustard seed
  • 1/2 tablespoon whole cloves
  • 1 tablespoon all spice
  • 2/3 cup dry mustard
  • Enough cider vinegar to cover ingredients
  • 1/2 cup flour mixed with a little water

Boil ingredients (except the flour) for 15 minutes. Add flour mixed to smooth paste with a little water, boil 5 minutes longer or until vegetables are tender but not soft. Pack into sterilized KERR Jars and seal at once.

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Pickled Beets

SELECT small, young beets, cook until tender, dip into cold water. Peel off skins. Make the following syrup:

  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 cups water
  • 2 cups strong vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon cloves
  • 1 teaspoon allspice
  • 1 tablespoon cinnamon

Pour over beets and boil 10 minutes. Pack into sterilized KERR Jars and seal at once.

Pickled Carrots (Sweet)

  • 1 quart vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon whole cloves
  • 1 tablespoon whole allspice
  • 1 tablespoon mace
  • 1 quart sugar
  • Stick cinnamon

BOIL young carrots until skins slip. Remove skins, slice or leave whole. Pour syrup made of vinegar, sugar and spices (in bag) boiling hot over carrots. Let stand overnight, then bring to boil and boil 5 minutes. Remove spices and pack carrots into clean KERR Jars. Fill to within 1/2 inch of top of jar with the hot spiced syrup. Put on cap, screwing the band firmly tight.. Process 10 minutes in water bath.

Pickled Crab Apples

CHOOSE sound crab apples uniform in size. Do not pare them. Make a spiced syrup by heating together 1 quart of vinegar, 3 cups water, 4 cups sugar, 1 tablespoon each of cinnamon, cloves, and 1 teaspoon each of mace and allspice. Tie spices loosely in cheesecloth bag. This is enough syrup for about 5 pints. When cool, add crab apples, and heat slowly, being careful not to burst the fruit. Let stand in syrup overnight. Next morning remove spice bag and pack apples without reheating into clean KERR Jars, and fill to within 1/2 inch of top of jar with syrup. Put on cap, screwing the band firmly tight. Process in water bath at simmering temperature (180° F.) for 20 minutes.

Pickled Onions

SELECT tiny white pickling onions. Peel and place in a salt brine by dissolving 1 1/2 pounds of salt in 1 gallon of water. Use enough brine to come 5 or 6 inches above onions. Allow onions to stand in brine for five weeks. If necessary, use a weight to hold onions under brine. Drain from salt solution. Pour boiling water over onions, let set 2 hours. Drain and pack in sterilized KERR Jars. Make a syrup of equal proportions of vinegar and sugar and bring to boiling point. Pour boiling hot over onions in jar. Cover jar but do not seal. Drain off vinegar solution for 3 mornings, reheating it and pouring over onions in jar. With the third and last heating, add 1 teaspoon pickling spices to each pint jar of onions, pour hot solution over them and seal at once.

Pickled Peaches or Pears

  • 1 quart vinegar
  • 6 pounds sugar (12 cups)
  • 12 pounds peeled fruit (6 quarts)

MAKE a syrup of the vinegar and sugar and add a spice bag made of 1 tablespoon of ground cloves, and 1 piece of ginger root if desired. Add 4 or 5 whole sticks of cinnamon to the syrup and drop a few at a time of the peaches or pears into this boiling syrup. Cook until the fruit can be readily pierced with a straw, let stand in covered kettle overnight. Next day pack into clean KERR Jars to within 1/2 inch of top of jar, covering fruit with the syrup. Put on cap, screwing band firmly tight. Process in water bath at simmering temperature (180° F.) for 20 minutes.

Saccharine (Sour) Pickles

  • 7 quarts medium cucumbers
  • 1 teaspoon powdered saccharine
  • 1 cup dry mustard
  • 1 cup salt
  • 1 gallon vinegar

WASH cucumbers and pack into sterilized KERR Jars. Mix saccharine, mustard and salt and add to the vinegar. Pour over cucumbers in the jar and seal at once. These are sour pickles.

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Salad Dressing Pickles

  • 18 large cucumbers
  • 12 onions
  • 3 cups sugar
  • 1 tablespoon celery seed
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
  • 1 small jar pimiento or 2 sweet red peppers
  • 1 tablespoon turmeric
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1 quart vinegar

PEEL and slice cucumbers and let stand overnight in brine made with 1/2 cup salt to 3 quarts water. Slice thin or chop fine the onions. Mix sugar, spices, flour and vinegar. Add cucumbers, onions and pimientos. Cook 10 minutes. Pack while hot in sterilized KERR Jars and seal at once.

Senf Gurken (Ripe Yellow Cucumbers)

PEEL ripe yellow cucumbers. Cut in halves lengthwise. Scrape out seeds with a spoon. Cut each half in fourths and soak in water overnight. Drain and make a syrup of:

  • 2 cups white vinegar
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon mustard seed
  • 1 teaspoon mixed spices

Bring to boil. Add cucumbers and boil about 3 minutes. Pack pickles solidly into clean KERR Jars. Add 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 onion, sliced, to each quart. Cover with boiling syrup and seal at once.

Sour Pickles

  • Medium cucumbers
  • 1 gallon cider vinegar
  • 1 quart water
  • 1 cup salt
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup white mustard seed

WASH medium cucumbers and pack them into sterilized KERR Jars. Mix the vinegar, water, salt sugar and mustard seed and bring to the boiling point. Pour the hot solution over the cucumbers in the jars and seal at once.

Sweet Pickles (14 Days)

INTO a clean stone jar put 2 gallons of cucumbers, washed and sliced lengthwise. Regardless of size, cucumbers must be sliced or they will shrivel. Dissolve 2 cups of salt in one gallon of boiling water and pour while hot over pickles. Then cover and weight down pickles and let stand for 1 week. On the eight day, drain, then pour 1 gallon of boiling water over them and let stand 24 hours. On the ninth day, drain and pour 1 gallon of boiling water with 1 tablespoon of powdered alum over the pickles and let stand 24 hours. On the following day or tenth day, drain again, pour 1 gallon boiling water over them, let stand 24 hours then drain.

For the pickling mixture, combine 5 pints of vinegar boiling hot, 6 cups of sugar, 1/2 ounce (5 tablespoons) celery seed, 1 ounce (3 tablespoons, broken) cinnamon stick. Pour this over the pickles. Drain off for three mornings, add 1 cup sugar each morning, reheat and pour back over pickles. With the third and last heating pack pickles into sterilized KERR Jars, cover them with boiling syrup and seal at once.

Sweet Pickle Sticks

USE fresh, firm medium cucumbers. Wash and cut them into sticks. Pour boiling water over them and let stand 4 to 5 hours. Then drain and pack solidly into clean KERR jars. Make a solution of:

  • 3 3/4 cups vinegar
  • 3 cups sugar
  • 3 tablespoons salt
  • 4 1/2 teaspoons celery seed
  • 4 1/2 teaspoons turmeric
  • 3/4 teaspoon mustard seed

Boil the solution for 5 minutes. Pour boiling hot over the cucumbers in jars. Put on KERR Cap, screwing band firmly tight. Process in boiling water bath for 5 minutes. Solution fills 6 pint jars. Note: if sweeter pickle is desired double measurement of sugar.

Tomato Pickle

  • 20 large ripe tomatoes
  • 6 large pears
  • 6 large peaches
  • 6 large apples
  • 4 large onions
  • 1 pint vinegar
  • 4 cups granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons salt
  • 1 package mixed pickling spices (tie in cloth)

PEEL and chop fine the tomatoes, pears, peaches, apples and onions. Mix all ingredients and boil until thick. Pour into sterilized KERR Jars and seal at once.

Virginia Chunk Sweet Pickles

  • 75 cucumbers 4 or 5 inches long, or 2 gallons small ones
  • Or use what you have; most any nice solid cucumber makes a nice pickle

MAKE brine of a proportion of 2 cups salt to one gallon water, boil and pour over cucumbers boiling hot. Weight down to keep under brine. Let stand one week. In hot weather skim daily. Drain and cut in chunks. For the next three mornings make a boiling hot solution of one gallon water and one tablespoon powdered alum and pour over the pickles. Make this fresh hot bath for three mornings. On the fourth morning drain and discard alum water. Heat 6 cups vinegar, 5 cups sugar, 1/3 cup pickling spice and 1 tablespoon celery seed to boiling point and pour over the pickles. On the fifth morning drain this liquid off and add to it 2 cups more sugar, heat again to boiling point and pour over the pickles. On the sixth morning drain the liquid, add one cup sugar, heat, pack the pickles into sterilized KERR Jars and fill to within 1/2 inch of top of jar with the boiling liquid. Seal at once.

Watermelon Pickles

RIN of one large watermelon. Pell and remove all green and pink portions from the watermelon rind. Cut in one inch cubes and soak overnight in salt water (four tablespoons of salt to one quart of water). Drain, cover with fresh water and cook until almost tender. Drain the watermelon and make a syrup of 8 cups of sugar, 4 cups of vinegar and 8 teaspoons of whole cloves, 16 sticks of cinnamon and a little mustartd seed. (Tie spices in cheesecloth bag.) Heat the syrup and spices to boiling and allow to set for 15 minutes. Add the drained watermelon rind and cook until clear and transparent. If desired a few minutes before boiling time is up, add enough green or red food coloring to give desired color to the pickle. Pack boiling hot into sterilized KERR Jars and seal at once.

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