Categories: chutney, pickles, relish
Ingredients
- Cucumbers-same or medium sized
- Salt, will need several pounds
- 9 pints water plus more if needed
Directions
- Select small or medium-sized cucumbers. Wash, dry and weigh.
- Pack cucumbers in a stone, glass or enamel container. Make a 10 oer cent brine from 1 lb. of salt to 9 pints of water. Make 2/3 as much brine as cucumbers. Cover the cucumbers with the brine. Place a plate or circular board on the cucumbers. Place a weight (a jar of water will do), on the plate to keep the cucumbers under the brine. Cover the weight and top of the container with a cloth.
- Next day, add 1 lb. of salt for each 10 lbs. cucumbers, in order to keep the strength of the brine. Pour salt on plate or board that holds down cucumbers. This allows a more even distribution in the brine. Keep all scum removed from the brine.
- At the end of the first week, add 1/4 lb. (about 1/2 cup) of salt. Continue to add the same amount of salt at the end of each week for four more weeks.
- At the end of six weeks, cut a few of the cucumbers to see if they are cured. When completely cured, cucumber should be an even olive green color throughout. If there are any white spots on the cucumbers, add salt as before and let them continue to cure.
- When cucumbers are completely cured, they can either be made into pickles immediately, or they can be stored. If they are to be stored, seal by pouring hot paraffin over the top of the container in which the cucumbers were cured or if jars are used for storing, cover the cucumbers with the curing brine and seal. Stored cucumbers should keep for 2 to 3 years.
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Cucumber Pickles:
- If the cucumber are to be made into pickles, soak out salt. Then put them in a pan, cover with water, and heat slowly to simmering. Remove the pan from the heat, and let cucumbers stand in water for 10 to 12 hours. After the salt is removed, the cucumbers are ready to be made into either sour or sweet pickles.
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Sour Pickles(from brine-cured cucumbers)
- Cover cucumbers with vinegar and let stand for a week or 10 days. Then, remove cucumbers from vinegar.
- Make a spiced vinegar from 6 cups of fresh vinegar and 1 Tbsp. of pickling spice. Simmer for 5 minutes, then let stand overnight.
- Next morning, pack cucumbers into sterilized jars. Cover with the spiced vinegar. Seal and process in boiling mater for 15 minutes. Start to count time as soon as ars are placed in hot water. Remove, cool and store.