Sweet Gherkin Pickles recipe
YIELD
36 servingsPREP
3 hrsCOOK
20 minREADY
4 daysIngredients
Directions
Wash cucumbers.
Cut 1/16-inch slice off blossom end and discard, but leave ¼ inch of stem attached.
Place cucumbers in large container and cover with boiling water.
Six to 8 hours later, and on the second day, drain and cover with 6 quarts of fresh boiling water containing ¼ cup salt.
On the third day, drain and prick cucumbers with a table fork.
Combine and bring to boil 3 cups vinegar, 3 cups sugar, turmeric, and spices.
Pour over cucumbers.
Six to 8 hours later, drain and save the pickling syrup.
Add another 2 cups each of sugar and vinegar and reheat to boil.
Pour over pickles.
On the fourth day, drain and save syrup.
Add another 2 cups sugar and 1 cup vinegar.
Heat to boiling and pour over pickles.
Drain and save pickling syrup 6 to 8 hours later.
Add 1 cup sugar and 2 teaspoon vanilla and heat to boiling.
Fill sterile pint jars, with pickles and cover with hot syrup, leaving ½-inch headspace.
For more information on sterilizing jars see “Jars and Lids”
Adjust lids and process according to the recommendations in Table 1, or use the low-temperature pasteurization treatment.
(For more information see “Low-Temperature Pasteurization Treatment")
Table 1.
Recommended process time for Sweet Gherkin Pickles in a boiling-water canner.
Style of Pack: Raw.
Jar Size: Pints.
Process Time at Altitudes of 0 - 1, 000 ft: 5 min.
1, 001 - 6, 000 ft: 10 min.
Above 6, 000 ft: 15 min.
Comments
Will this recipe work with slices offer spears?
Why all the draining, waiting, redraining, re-waiting? Why not just put the pickles in a jar, pour the boiling brine of salt, vinegar, sugar over them (with spices) leaving a 1" headspace, put the lids on them, then put them into the canning tub for 10 minutes, then take them out and let them cool? Why all the BS?
All good things are better with time,
Yes, why all that, 4 day BS?
When the sugar is added in stages, it makes a totally different pickle. Sweet all the way through..
Copied from National Center for Home Food Preservation with the error of 'fennel bulb' instead of fennel seed.
This is plagiarizing.
What do I do with the cinnamon sticks
Add them in with the spices.
I'm sorry but I don't usually comment but I stuck to the step by step instructions. My pickles were extremely soft. Really liked the brine but process was a fail. I ruined my whole batch of gerkins. I. Give this a o for rating.
Why don't you people quit whining and try again you obviously did something wrong and it's not BS to do it like it's supposed to be done. Grow up or buy your pickles at the store
I can confirm that this recipe did in fact work out very well for me.
I was very skeptical and didn't have great confidence given the poorly written instructions that were severely lacking in detail and clarity. But I struggled to find better instructions anywhere else online! So after doing the calculations to adjust to the amount of small 2" cucumbers I cut from my vines at the end of the season and also taking some liberties with my interpretation of the timing (what does: "Six to 8 hours later, and on the second day" mean if I started at 8am on Day 1?!?) I jumped in and followed the 4 day process.
The result: these tasted even better than store bought gherkins in my opinion!