Grandma Roling’s 10-Day Sweet Pickles
10-Day Sweet Pickles Recipe
INGREDIENTS (Makes 5-6 pints but can be multiplied as I did)
15 - 20 Fresh Cucumbers
Canning Salt
6 c. White Sugar
1 Pint White Vinegar
4 Tbsps. Mixed Pickling Spice (found in the spices or canning sections of your store)
Cheesecloth and string (to make and tie pickling spice bag)
Green food coloring
DIRECTIONS
*Laurie’s Canning Tip: Only use FRESH cucumbers from a garden or farmer’s market! If you buy cucumbers from most grocery stores, they spray the skin with wax to keep it “fresher” longer and to look “pretty and shiny”. This wax will inhibit the pickling process and may make the skins soggy when canning.
Step 1: Cut cucumbers into 3-inch quarter slices leaving skin on. If they are very large, you may need to cut them into 6ths or 8ths.
Step 2: Make enough brine (canning salt & water) to submerse the number of cut up cucumbers you’re going to can. Brine is strong enough when you’re able to float an egg in salted water.
Step 3: Cover and let the cucumbers stand in the brine for 3 days. Laurie’s Tip: I place a plate over the top of the cucumbers to ensure they are submersed, as they will float in the salt water. I cover with a towel and place a bowl of water on top of the plate to keep them pressed into the brine.
Step 4: On day 4, drain the brine and fill the container back up with fresh water to remove some of the salty brine. Drain and freshen the water every day for 3 days (days 4, 5 & 6).
Step 5: On the 7th day, drain well. Prepare a new brine of 2 Tbsps. alum to 1 gallon of water. Simmer pickles for 2 hours. Rinse and drain well. Laurie’s Tip: You will notice the pickles are now getting exponentially smaller than when you 1st started the process. That is completely normal in the pickling process!
Step 6: Take a square section of cheesecloth about 6” X 6” and place pickling spice in the middle. Gather corners to the top and tie into a “bag” with string or make a larger square to tie into a knot.
Step 7: Mix 6 c. sugar, 1-pint white vinegar, the cheesecloth bag of mixed pickling spice. Stirring frequently as not to scorch the sugar, and bring to a boil. Pour over the pickles and let stand overnight.
Step 8: Every morning for the next 2 mornings (days 8 and 9) drain the SAME sugar, vinegar and cheesecloth bag into a pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, pour back over the pickles again and let stand overnight.
Step 9: On the last day, (day 10) do the same as step 8 but add a few drops of green food coloring into the mixture until the desired color is reached. *The food coloring step is COMPLETELY optional, but that’s the way my Mom and Grandma did it and I’m not messing with perfection! 😉 Also, after re-boiling the brine, it starts to almost “caramelize” and get darker each time, like a simple syrup.
Step 10: Discard the cheesecloth bag, pack the pickles in your jars leaving a ¼- or 1/2-inch headspace at the top., and fill with the sugar & vinegar mixture and process. Wipe the rims of jars with a clean, damp cloth and remove any food residue. Put the lid on each jar and then apply the band. Screw jar until finger-tight but not too tight.
Step 11: Place jars in your canner and fill with water to the neck of the jars. Heat the water-bath canning pot and bring to a boil. Start timer when water starts boiling and boil the filled jars for about 10 minutes. Once finished, shut off heat and remove the canner lid allowing steam to escape away from you. Let jars rest in canner for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove jars using the jar lifter from canner and stand on a towel or rack, not touching. As they cool, you should hear the lids “pop” which means the jars have properly sealed. Leave jars undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours to cool. DO NOT retighten bands, as this may interfere with the sealing process.
