Recipe by Jennifer Crisman, Ravenna, Ohio
First place, Pickles & Relishes (Pickles), 2017
Baking temperature: n/a
Baking time: n/a
Yield: about 7 pint jars
Ingredients
- 6 lbs. pickling cucumbers
- 2 large onions
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- ½ c canning or pickling salt
- 4 c white vinegar
- 4 c sugar
- 2 T mustard seed
- 1 ½ T celery seed
- 1 T pickling spice
- 1 t turmeric
- 7 pint glass preserving jars with lids and bands
Instructions
- Prepare/sanitize jars, lids and bands by washing in hot soapy water then rinsing and placing in a pot of barely simmering water until ready to fill
- Place cucumbers in sink with cold water. Scrub each cucumber by hand. Rinse all the cucumbers and drain
- Slice ¼ in off each end of each cucumber and discard. Slice the cucumbers into ¼ in thick slices
- Thinly slice onions and garlic. Place the cucumbers, onions, garlic and pepper in a large pot and stir gently by hand to mix
- Sprinkle salt over mixture
- Cover the mixture with about 2 inches of crushed or cubed ice
- Refrigerate the mixture for 3-4 hours, or overnight, adding more ice as needed during this time
- Crain cucumber mixture and rinse well to remove salt. Let drain
- In a large pot, add vinegar, sugar, mustard seed, celery seed pickling spice and turmeric. Stir well
- Bring to a boil over medium high heat and boil for 10 minutes
- Add cucumber and onions to the pot, bring back to low boil and boil for 1 minute
- Remove from heat and ladle into hot jars, leaving ½ in. head space in each jar
- Remove any air bubbles by inserting a wooden skewer along inside edge of the jar
- Ladle hot jam into hot jars leaving ½ in headspace. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Apply band until fit is fingertip tight
- Process jars in a boiling water bath canner 10 minutes. Remove jars and cool 12 hours. Check lids for seal- lids should not flex up and down when center is pressed
- Label and store jars