Bread and Butter Pickles (via Kay Kooiman)

Two of my grandkids LOVE my bread and butter pickles (along with me and my 3 kids) and have been going home with the few jars that I made this winter, so decided that I'd better replenish the supply a little today while I could still get some pickling cucumbers..Anyway, my daughter, Kim, and I jumped in the car this morning at 7:00 and took the drive down to the Minneapolis Farmers Market, (love that place) and bought pickles and onions and a few items (like eggrolls) and misc veggies and headed home.  She making refrigerator pickles, a big tubful, and me the bread and butters.  After 2 hours of scrubbing small pickles with lots of little breaks in between, I finally finished the whole process 13 hours after we had jumped in the car.  I know this winter I will be glad I did it, but tonight..not so much!  I am getting old.

BREAD AND BUTTER PICKLES:

4 Quarts scrubbed (in cold water in small batches) and thinly sliced fairly small cucumbers..don't buy ones with big seeds in them..they get mushy and gross.
1-1/2 cups sliced yellow onions (rings)
2 large cleaned garlic cloves
1/3 cup canning salt
2 trays of ice cubes

4-1/2 cups white sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons turmeric
1-1/2 teaspoons celery seed
2 Tablespoons mustard seed
3 cups vinegar

Wash and scrub pickles with a little hand scrubber..lay on a clean towel to drain.

in a large bowl, slice cucumbers fairly thinly until you have 4 quarts of them.  add the sliced onion and garlic cloves.  add the salt and toss with your hands.  cover with the ice cubes and handi-wrap..set aside (no need to refrigerate) for 3 hours..I made three batches, thus the 3 bowls of them..

 

Meanwhile: wash 4 quart jars or 8 pint jars in the dishwasher if you have one..otherwise wash well and dip in boiling water to sterilize them..important.  I also put my metal rings in the dishwasher and the new seal lids in a small kettle and heat up to softened the rubber and to sterilize them.

When it gets close to the 3 hours, add the remaining brine ingredients to a large kettle and bring to a boil stirring to incorporate the sugar.  Drain the pickles well in a colander and remove the garlic pieces.  Once drained, add the cucumbers to the boiling brine, stir and bring them up to a low boil once again.  at this point turn them to low and start filling your clean jars, pushing the pickles down to the bottom of the jar to remove any air pockets..leave about 1 inch of head room at the top of the jar, wipe the top of the jar well with a clean cloth, apply your rubber seal and metal ring tightly, wipe off outside of jar well and set jar on a clean towel-DON'T mess with it once you have set it there..it should pop within a few hours if not sooner, but leave them overnight and check for a seal then..it should be dented in.  If it's not refrigerate and eat them, or reheat the contents and start the process all over again.  Make sure none of your jars have cracks etc in the top so it's a smooth area to seal.  Let me know if you have any questions!