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Bread and Butter Pickles Canning Recipe

Makes approximately 8 pints
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Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 6 pounds pickling cucumbers
  • 8 cups thinly sliced onions about 3 pounds
  • ½ cup canning or pickling salt
  • 4 cups vinegar 5% acidity
  • 4½ cups granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons mustard seed
  • 1½ tablespoons celery seed
  • 1 tablespoon ground turmeric

Method
 

  1. Prepare the Cucumbers
  2. Wash the cucumbers thoroughly.
  3. Remove approximately 1/16 inch from the blossom end of each cucumber and discard it.
  4. Slice the cucumbers about 3/16 inch thick.
  5. Thinly slice the onions.
  6. Salt and Chill
  7. Place the sliced cucumbers and onions in a large food-safe bowl or container.
  8. Sprinkle them with the canning salt and toss everything together.
  9. Cover the vegetables with approximately 2 inches of crushed or cubed ice.
  10. Refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours. Add more ice if needed while they chill.
  11. Drain the cucumbers and onions thoroughly.
  12. Prepare the Canner
  13. While the cucumbers drain, prepare your boiling-water canner and clean canning jars.
  14. Keep the jars hot until you're ready to fill them.
  15. Prepare your lids according to the manufacturer's instructions.
  16. Make the Pickling Brine
  17. Combine the vinegar, sugar, mustard seed, celery seed and turmeric in a large stainless-steel pot.
  18. Bring the mixture to a boil and boil for 10 minutes.
  19. Add the drained cucumbers and onions to the hot brine.
  20. Slowly heat everything until it returns to a boil.
  21. There's no need to cook the cucumbers half to death. You're heating them through before packing them into the jars.
  22. Fill the Jars
  23. Pack the hot cucumbers and onions into hot jars.
  24. Ladle the hot pickling brine over the vegetables, leaving ½ inch headspace.
  25. Remove trapped air bubbles and adjust the headspace if necessary.
  26. Wipe the rims clean and apply the lids and bands.
  27. Water-Bath Canning Bread and Butter Pickles
  28. Place the filled jars in your boiling-water canner.
  29. Process pints or quarts according to your elevation:

Notes

A Note About the Vinegar

When I'm making something for the refrigerator, I have a lot more freedom to play around with a recipe.
Canning is different.
Use vinegar clearly labeled 5% acidity. White distilled vinegar will give you a lighter, sharper pickle, while apple cider vinegar gives the finished pickles a slightly different flavor and darker color.
Don't reduce the amount of vinegar or increase the amount of vegetables in this recipe.
With shelf-stable canning, the proportions matter. This is one place where I don't measure with my heart.