I mentioned on Friday that I had eaten bread and butter pickles at my Mom's house not long ago. When she asked if I wanted to try some of the sweet pickles she made, I quickly said no, since I can't stand sweet pickles.
But, when Eric had some, I decided to try a little taste. Then, I had to steal them off of his plate. And, just a few days later, I had to make my own batch. I was pleased at how easy they were to make.
My Mom picked up almost all of the ingredients I needed for me. So, the first step was to wash the pickling cucumbers that she had picked up for me. I forgot to count how many I started with. I think somewhere in the neighborhood of 14 - 16.
Next, I thinly sliced all of the pickling cucumbers. I ran out of room in the bowl I was putting them in, so you'll see that I just stuck a cucumber's worth in each of the big jars that I was getting ready to use.
I also chopped up the onion. And I cried. And I chopped some more, and I cried some more.
I am normally not crazy about onions, so I only used about half the amount in the recipe, but I decided that it was probably important to the recipe to actually put them in. (Plus, on the up side, the onions get pickled too, and they just taste a lot like pickles in the end.)
I filled up six jars with cucumber slices and chopped onions. My Mom warned me many times to really jam the jars full of cucumbers and onions. I thought I had. Let me tell you -- I definitely had not. Next time I make them, I am going to push much harder than this. They aren't all that full, though they do look really full.
I boiled the mixture. I also got too close and sniffed just at the right moment, and it kind of burned my sinuses. Okay, maybe not really burnt them, but it was not pleasant.
Do you know what was less pleasant? When I did it again.
(Quick note: Be sure to check out number four on this list to see my tip about buying the spices very inexpensively.)
I'm funny about pouring boiling hot liquids. So, instead of pouring the boiling hot liquid from the pan straight into the jars, I used a super-sized mixing cup (okay, it's really the batter bowl or something like that from a certain company that sent me a cease and desist email).
Yummy! Hello pickles and onions and spices! You look so good.
So, here's the proof that I did not pack in the jars full enough. See how each jar has quite a large area of liquid at the bottom? Yeah, you see it? Well, that's the proof. (It got a little bit worse after this too!)
Bread and Butter Pickles Recipes
Ingredients:
Directions:
1. Slice unpeeled cucumbers (thinly) and sliced onion into glass jars. Pack tightly.
2. Bring spices, sugar and vinegar to a boil.
3. Pour over cucumbers and onions.
(Quick note: I didn't have enough liquid for the amount of cucumbers I had, but the nice thing is that the mixture comes together really fast. So, I just whipped up another 1/4 batch of the liquid to finish up my jars. So, don't worry if you don't have the right amount.)
4. Store in fridge. Mix occasionally. (Keeps for many months.)
Enjoy! (I know I have been. I actually had 12, yes 12, pickles on my hamburger at dinner time tonight.)

This post is linked to: Tasty Tuesday, Kitchen Tip Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Tackle It Tuesday, and Frugal Friday.





















14 comments:
Angie,you did a great job on your pickles,Enjoy them in the fall and winter.
I LOVE bread and butter pickles and have canned a batch of my own before, but they didn't turn out quite like I had hoped. I think I sliced the cucumbers too thin, and I cooked them in the brine before canning. This way seems much easier, I think I'll try it!
If you like these you should try fridge pickles...much easier and no boiling of the brine.
Mmmm, I love pickles! Great recipe:D
do you have to worry about the jars breaking when pouring the hot liquid in?
What a yummy tackle:-)
I might have to get brave and try that sometime. I don't like sweet pickles, either, but I *love* bread and butter pickles.
Looks similar to my mom's pickle recipe - which I love. Awesome!
Looks just like my Grammy's recipe. Yum- wish I had some right now!
Very nice! I have some dill pickles in my cupboard getting pickled and ready to be eaten.
I water bath canned them.
I used to make BB pickles all of the time but haven't in a few years. They really are tasty. I would love for you to join me at Diningwithdebbie.blogspot.com for Crock Pot Wednesday. It's easy, fun and economical! Come on over and check it out.
@ Linda -- You would need to make sure that you are using Mason jars, since they are a heavier weight than typical food jars (you know, they are thicker than say, a spaghetti sauce jar).
Also, make sure that you check mason jars for any defects prior to each use. We actually had to throw one away. If you had one with a crack, I could see how there would be trouble.
On a last point though, these are actually called "ice cream bucket pickles." So, they can actually just all be thrown into a large ice cream bucket. I just like the glass jars better.
Thanks for the great question!
Those pickles will be so yummy!!! Thanks for linking to TMTT.
Yum. We like this kind of pickle, but I haven't tried making them at home.
Post a Comment