Our good friend, Doris, asked me last year if I ever made lime pickles. These haven't been part of my usual canning plans, but her question reminded me of the snappy, sweet southern pickles which I had not tasted in a long, long time. So when I found beautiful Alibi cucumbers at one of our favorite market vendors and when I learned that they were on sale, I knew that Lime Pickles were in our collective futures.
OLD SOUTH CUCUMBER LIME PICKLES
(makes 8 pints)
- 7 pounds cucumbers, sliced crosswise into chunks
- 1 cup pickling lime
- 2 gallons water
- 8 cups distilled white vinegar
- 8 cups sugar
- 1 tablespoon canning salt
- 2 teaspoons mixed pickling spices
Soak clean cucumbers in water and lime mixture in crockery or enamel ware for 2 hours or overnight. (Do not use aluminum pot for soaking.)
Remove cucumbers from water. Discard lime water. Rinse 3 times in fresh cold water. Soak 3 hours in fresh ice water.
Combine vinegar, sugar, salt and mixed pickling spices in a large pot. Bring to a low boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove syrup from heat and add sliced cucumbers. Soak 5 to 6 hours or overnight.
Boil slices in the syrup 35 minutes. Fill sterilized jars with hot slices. Pour hot syrup over the slices,leaving 1/2-inch head space. Cap each jar with the screw on lid when filled.
Process pints 10 minutes (at sea level) in a boiling water bath canner.
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