Mothers Perfect Pickles
(With the family secret for crunchy dill pickles!)
(With the family secret for crunchy dill pickles!)
Home canning has been a part of our family for as long as I can remember. When the summer ended and the harvest was complete I loved to be the one to give the final count on the fruit of our labors peaches, pears, applesauce, beets, green beans, strawberry jam, and....PICKLES! I loved the dill pickles.
One particular winter day I took a walk down to the cellar. I glanced around the room, it was loaded with lovely home canned fruit and vegetables.
But...my mind was set on one thing. I carefully scanned the shelves Ah ha there it is -- the bottle of dill pickles I had canned myself.
As the bottle came off the self, my mouth started to water. There was nothing I liked so much as a crunchy dill pickle. Those pickles looked so good, I could hardly wait to get the lid off the bottle.
I finally made it to the kitchen and popped open the lid immediately the aroma of those home canned dill pickles floated through the room no need to wait any longer. Out came the biggest pickle and I sunk my teeth into it.
Surprise! My joy quickly turned to despair as my teeth sunk into a squishy, soggy dill pickle not even worth eating! Almost in tears I ran to mother. What had happened to my pickles?
With a twinkle in her eye and a half smile, she started quizzing me down: How long did the cucumbers sit after you picked them from the vine? What size were the cucumbers that you used? Did you get them right out of the hot water bath when it started to boil? Etc.
After playing detective for a couple of minutes, she chuckled and told me our family secret for crunchy pickles. It is simple, yet so important and believe me, I learned a valuable lesson one I never forgot! Next time I canned my dill pickles I made sure I followed her recipe religiously. And the next time I pulled my bottle of pickles off the shelf, they were everything a little girl could expect a dill pickle to be!
One particular winter day I took a walk down to the cellar. I glanced around the room, it was loaded with lovely home canned fruit and vegetables.
But...my mind was set on one thing. I carefully scanned the shelves Ah ha there it is -- the bottle of dill pickles I had canned myself.
As the bottle came off the self, my mouth started to water. There was nothing I liked so much as a crunchy dill pickle. Those pickles looked so good, I could hardly wait to get the lid off the bottle.
I finally made it to the kitchen and popped open the lid immediately the aroma of those home canned dill pickles floated through the room no need to wait any longer. Out came the biggest pickle and I sunk my teeth into it.
Surprise! My joy quickly turned to despair as my teeth sunk into a squishy, soggy dill pickle not even worth eating! Almost in tears I ran to mother. What had happened to my pickles?
With a twinkle in her eye and a half smile, she started quizzing me down: How long did the cucumbers sit after you picked them from the vine? What size were the cucumbers that you used? Did you get them right out of the hot water bath when it started to boil? Etc.
After playing detective for a couple of minutes, she chuckled and told me our family secret for crunchy pickles. It is simple, yet so important and believe me, I learned a valuable lesson one I never forgot! Next time I canned my dill pickles I made sure I followed her recipe religiously. And the next time I pulled my bottle of pickles off the shelf, they were everything a little girl could expect a dill pickle to be!
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