Here is a very easy and good recipe I have made. It is from the book Make
Your Own Convenience Foods by Don and Joan German, 1978. I'm not sure if it
is still available, its a great book.
Sweet Pickles
Bring to a boil:
1 cup water 1 cup sugar
1 cup apple cider vinegar 1 teaspoon mace
Add and let simmer for 6 minutes:
about 3 large cucumbers, sliced
If you cn't get the slices in the saucepan all at once, cook a portion and
take them out with a slottted spoon, then cook the rest. Pack into a jar or
jars, top with the juice from the saucepan and chill. You may can these if
you wish or simply prepare them as needed in batches this size. Makes about
1 quart.
Variation: During the cooking , add 1 small onion, sliced and separated into
rings, 1/2 tsp. garlic powder, and 1 tsp. mustard seeds for bread-and-butter
style pickles.
(this is what I did by the way)
Half-Sour Pickles
Get a large crock, cookie jar, or wide mouth jug. Wash a quantity of:
pickling cucumbers
and cut just a bit from each end. Pack them, one at a time, in the crock,
getting in as many as possible. Add:
water
pouring it into the crock just to the top of the cukes. Now pour this water
into a separate container; you will use it as the base for your pickles, and
what you have done is to measure the exact amount you will need.
Add the water to a cooking utensil, one cup at a time, keeping track of how
many cups you have. For each cup of water used, add:
1 tsp. garlic powder 2 1/2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tsps. salt
Bring the mixture to a boil, then simply pour it over the cukes, which are
still in the crock. Cover loosely and allow to sit at room temperature for 3
days. Then store in the refrigerator and enjoy.
Do not slice or otherwise cut the cucumbers, except for the small piece taken
from ach end, or they will get very mushy. This recipe is not rcommended for
any but pickling cucumbers.
Barbara in FL