The World of Canning

So I decided to enter the world of canning, well I've been meaning to for years now but I just have never gotten around to it. My Grandma has a pickle recipe that I just love, as do many of us in the family, and I've always wanted to give it a try. Well this year I finally remembered in time to pick up the ingredients. After a week of trying to track down pickling cucumbers and fresh dill I was ready to give it a whirl. The first step involved setting the cucumbers to soak in a nasty salt water solution that left crusty salt wherever it happened to slosh out of the container.


Then came the fun of loading up the jars. My mom gave me the bright idea of running the jars through the dishwasher first. Not only does it sterilize but by leaving them in there until I needed them it kept them hot.









After wedging as many cucumbers into a jar that I could, and pouring in the stinky brine (that was also full of salt that crusted all over my counter tops) it was time to do the "canning". It did lead to a very humid smelly atmosphere in my house but I think that it worked.


All of my jars sealed, and with just a few minor mishaps such as running out of vinegar and fresh dill weed on the last 5 or so jars (improvising hopefully worked) or pouring boiling water down my leg when I removed the lid to the caner on the last load, I now have 20 quarts of beautiful pickles. The only downside......I don't know how they taste for at least another 6 months :(
Even though it was a lot of work I have to say it was more fun than I expected. The whole process took about 24 hours from the beginning of the soak till the last wipe of the counter top but I actually enjoyed it. Maybe I'll have to try something else soon...