Adventures in Canning

I love pickles. My kids love pickles. Cucumbers are in season. These facts all lead me to my first adventure in canning. How hard can it be? Our grandparents did it. I already had a number of canning materials like mason jars and kitchen tools. When I saw on Facebook that my favorite farm down the street was selling pickling cucumbers for $1 a pound for 10 or more pounds, I knew the time had come.
I had recently taken a large stock pot out of my family’s storage room, thinking it would be great for lobster and corn on the cob.  When I opened it for corn last week, there was a rack inside that I thought was for lifting a chicken or something out of the pot.  Well, as I got that pot ready for canning I realized that the rack was actually intended for lifting JARS out of the pot.  I had luckily stumbled upon a large canning pot, woohoo!
After reading up on how to process my cucumbers, I set to work in a very hurried manner. Washing and cutting 10 and a half pounds of cucumbers is time consuming!  Jars were washed and warmed in the dishwasher (a luxury my grandmother certainly didn’t have) and the waterbath was starting to boil.  I created my brine with water and vinegar and Kosher Dill Mix.  Cucumbers stuffed into the jars, covered with hot brine, rims wiped, lids added and into the waterbath they go.  After boiling for the prescribed time, the pickles are ready to go!  They should sit for 4-6 weeks to reach premium flavor.  I can’t wait to eat them, although they look so pretty I’d like to look at them for a bit longer.