You pickle the newly early-mornin'-picked Gherkins Cucumbers in batches of about eight pounds at a time - which reminds me that Aunt Verna had a Big Kitchen Scale she used all the time...you want to stay pretty accurate with pickling, to get the product you want, and not just any old pickle - or, worse still, a batch of really sour or 'musty' pickles....anyways: clean the little Gherkins - the little knobby ones, that are only about one and a half to two and a half inches long. drain them...get six cups of plain water (preferably not from a well loaded with iron in it) and mix in a 1/4 cup on no-iodine salt called canning salt, usually. pour over all the gherkins in a non-reactive bowl, and let them sit in a real cool, dry place overnight, or at least eight hours. Verna then would drain them and do the same thing again (this is two days straight, as you can see) the next day, she'd drain them a prick each one once with a fork. Then, mix three cups of white cane or beet sugar, three cups of clear white vinegar, and just a half teaspoon of turmeric in a large non-reactive pot. now, you tie a little cloth bag called a spice bag, with two sticks of cinnamon, a scant teaspoon of whole allspice, two teaspoons of the packaged whole mixed Pickling Spice, and two teaspoons of whole celery seed. add the Spice bag to the liquid. Bring the whole thing to a boil, and pour the hot liquid over the gherkins. let them sit in this liquid in a cool, dry place for eight hours. Then drain the cukes, but save the liquid they were in. Now, add two cups of white sugar and one cup of white vinegar to this liquid they were in. Pour this new solution over the gherkins, and let it all 'stand' again overnight, in a cool dry place....on the last day, drain them again, and keep the liquid. Add Another two cups of white sugar and a cup of white vinegar to the 'reserved' liquid, and bring it all to a boil again. Pour it all over the cukes one more time, and let it stand for eight hours. Take out the spice bag. Drain the gherkins again! keep the liquid again! Add one more cup of white sugar, and bring to a boil. now pack the pickles into hot scalded jars, and pour the liquid over each one, leaving a 1/4 inch 'headspace' in each jar. Process the lidded, rimmed, newly sealed jars in a fifteen minute boilinf water 'bath'....let cool in the bath a bit. take them out with the tongs...when cool enough, check the seals, and store in a cool, dry, dark space. Verna stored her pickles in her basement mainly, as Sweet Gerkins were served for 'special' - brought up if folks asked for them, at supper-time with guests present, usually....every one knew they were Four Day Pickles, so they were indeed 'special'... and sweeter than most other pickles too, with that Crisp Gherkin 'snap' to 'em.....
2/17/13
SWEET GHERKIN PICKLES are crisp, cool, wonders of the Pickle World...really delicious and really sweet on a hot summer evenin'...second only to Vena's DILL PICKLES, which I swear I will teach you about quite soon....Gherkins are a great cucumber and make a Great Pickle, that's all a Wisconsin Farm Woman can tell you about 'em....
well, I think we'll do SWEET GHERKIN PICKLES next...since Cherylanne asked about them....they are a Lot like Bread and Butter Pickles, only sweeter and exotic in their spices, to my taste - and their Crunch Appeal is out of this world!...this is a Four Day Process, by the way, so settle in for the duration....it's worth the Pickle!....
You pickle the newly early-mornin'-picked Gherkins Cucumbers in batches of about eight pounds at a time - which reminds me that Aunt Verna had a Big Kitchen Scale she used all the time...you want to stay pretty accurate with pickling, to get the product you want, and not just any old pickle - or, worse still, a batch of really sour or 'musty' pickles....anyways: clean the little Gherkins - the little knobby ones, that are only about one and a half to two and a half inches long. drain them...get six cups of plain water (preferably not from a well loaded with iron in it) and mix in a 1/4 cup on no-iodine salt called canning salt, usually. pour over all the gherkins in a non-reactive bowl, and let them sit in a real cool, dry place overnight, or at least eight hours. Verna then would drain them and do the same thing again (this is two days straight, as you can see) the next day, she'd drain them a prick each one once with a fork. Then, mix three cups of white cane or beet sugar, three cups of clear white vinegar, and just a half teaspoon of turmeric in a large non-reactive pot. now, you tie a little cloth bag called a spice bag, with two sticks of cinnamon, a scant teaspoon of whole allspice, two teaspoons of the packaged whole mixed Pickling Spice, and two teaspoons of whole celery seed. add the Spice bag to the liquid. Bring the whole thing to a boil, and pour the hot liquid over the gherkins. let them sit in this liquid in a cool, dry place for eight hours. Then drain the cukes, but save the liquid they were in. Now, add two cups of white sugar and one cup of white vinegar to this liquid they were in. Pour this new solution over the gherkins, and let it all 'stand' again overnight, in a cool dry place....on the last day, drain them again, and keep the liquid. Add Another two cups of white sugar and a cup of white vinegar to the 'reserved' liquid, and bring it all to a boil again. Pour it all over the cukes one more time, and let it stand for eight hours. Take out the spice bag. Drain the gherkins again! keep the liquid again! Add one more cup of white sugar, and bring to a boil. now pack the pickles into hot scalded jars, and pour the liquid over each one, leaving a 1/4 inch 'headspace' in each jar. Process the lidded, rimmed, newly sealed jars in a fifteen minute boilinf water 'bath'....let cool in the bath a bit. take them out with the tongs...when cool enough, check the seals, and store in a cool, dry, dark space. Verna stored her pickles in her basement mainly, as Sweet Gerkins were served for 'special' - brought up if folks asked for them, at supper-time with guests present, usually....every one knew they were Four Day Pickles, so they were indeed 'special'... and sweeter than most other pickles too, with that Crisp Gherkin 'snap' to 'em.....
You pickle the newly early-mornin'-picked Gherkins Cucumbers in batches of about eight pounds at a time - which reminds me that Aunt Verna had a Big Kitchen Scale she used all the time...you want to stay pretty accurate with pickling, to get the product you want, and not just any old pickle - or, worse still, a batch of really sour or 'musty' pickles....anyways: clean the little Gherkins - the little knobby ones, that are only about one and a half to two and a half inches long. drain them...get six cups of plain water (preferably not from a well loaded with iron in it) and mix in a 1/4 cup on no-iodine salt called canning salt, usually. pour over all the gherkins in a non-reactive bowl, and let them sit in a real cool, dry place overnight, or at least eight hours. Verna then would drain them and do the same thing again (this is two days straight, as you can see) the next day, she'd drain them a prick each one once with a fork. Then, mix three cups of white cane or beet sugar, three cups of clear white vinegar, and just a half teaspoon of turmeric in a large non-reactive pot. now, you tie a little cloth bag called a spice bag, with two sticks of cinnamon, a scant teaspoon of whole allspice, two teaspoons of the packaged whole mixed Pickling Spice, and two teaspoons of whole celery seed. add the Spice bag to the liquid. Bring the whole thing to a boil, and pour the hot liquid over the gherkins. let them sit in this liquid in a cool, dry place for eight hours. Then drain the cukes, but save the liquid they were in. Now, add two cups of white sugar and one cup of white vinegar to this liquid they were in. Pour this new solution over the gherkins, and let it all 'stand' again overnight, in a cool dry place....on the last day, drain them again, and keep the liquid. Add Another two cups of white sugar and a cup of white vinegar to the 'reserved' liquid, and bring it all to a boil again. Pour it all over the cukes one more time, and let it stand for eight hours. Take out the spice bag. Drain the gherkins again! keep the liquid again! Add one more cup of white sugar, and bring to a boil. now pack the pickles into hot scalded jars, and pour the liquid over each one, leaving a 1/4 inch 'headspace' in each jar. Process the lidded, rimmed, newly sealed jars in a fifteen minute boilinf water 'bath'....let cool in the bath a bit. take them out with the tongs...when cool enough, check the seals, and store in a cool, dry, dark space. Verna stored her pickles in her basement mainly, as Sweet Gerkins were served for 'special' - brought up if folks asked for them, at supper-time with guests present, usually....every one knew they were Four Day Pickles, so they were indeed 'special'... and sweeter than most other pickles too, with that Crisp Gherkin 'snap' to 'em.....
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