Summertime Dill Pickles

The dill is flowering and the cucumbers are stacking up–must mean it’s pickling season! We found ourselves with a few free hours and all the ingredients on hand to kick off this year’s canning marathon. Dill flowers add a touch of beauty to canned goods pantry. The following recipe is based off the Ball Book of Canning dill pickle recipe:

Yield: 6 – 1 pt canning jars

4-lbs pickling cucumbers (or larger sliced to 5-ish inches)

4 cups water

3 cups white vinegar

1/4 cup pickling salt

2 TBSP sugar

1 TBSP pickling spice

6-12 dill flowers (1-2 per jar)

  1. Wash cucumbers and slice into slivers or coins (personal preference).
  2. Combine water, vinegar, sugar, and pickling spice in non-reactive pot and bring to a boil. Meanwhile start getting the canner water warming up.
  3. Place 1-2 dill flowers into each canning jar and stuff as many cucumber slices as you can into the jar
  4. Ladle hot pickling liquid into the jars leaving ½ inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and wipe rims before topping with lids and bands (only finger-tight!)
  5. Process jars in boiling water for 10 minutes, turn off heat and let stand for 5 minutes, and then remove jars to cool. If any don’t seal, stick them in the fridge to enjoy fresh.