Dill Pickles

We grew our own pickling cucumbers this year, so I could make fresh and hopefully crisper, organic dill pickles.

Dill pickles

Dill Pickle Recipe

This recipe is easy and you can add as much or as little garlic as you like. I wouldn't mess around with the brine ratio too much due to proper ph levels needed for safe storage, but you can tweak the spices and garlic to suit your taste.

Pickling cucumbers on digital scale

Ingredients

6 lbs pickling cucumbers
5 cups vinegar
5 cups water
7 tbsp kosher salt
18 garlic cloves
9 tsp dill seeds
4 1/2 tsp black peppercorns
5 large grape leaves

Dill pickle ingredients

Directions

Wash cucumbers and slice into wedges or slices.

Cucumbers

Bring the water, vinegar and salt to a boil to make a brine.

Peel the garlic and add 2 cloves to each sterilized jar. Add 1 tsp or a few sprigs of dill weed to each jar along with 1/2 tsp peppercorns.

Dill pickles

Pack the jars with the cucumber wedges, trimmed to about 1/2 inch from the top of the jars. Pack half a grape leaf in each jar to maintain the crispness of the pickles.

Fill each jar with the brine and place the lids and screw on the bands finger tight.

Pickle Processing

Process 12 minutes in a hot water bath. NO LONGER!.Let set at least one week before opening in order for the flavors to be absorbed. This part is torturous.

Tips for Crispy Pickles

I have never actually made crispy pickles, at least not to my satisfaction unless this year's batch was more successful than the past two years. Last year I left them in the water bath too long. This year I did better, taking them out after 12 minutes. I also used the grape leaves this year, and they are supposed to help keep pickles crispy. Some recipes say to use alum but apparently (or so I read somewhere) the FDA has banned that for some reason. I intend to research that a bit, since I have alum in my pantry and had intended to use it. Bit didn't. Because of the FDA.

Probably the most believable way to make the crispest pickles is to make them with fresh cucumbers, within hours of picking them, which is what I did. Hopefully between that and the grape leaves I will have more success than last year.

So, I'm sure they're no match for Bick's as crisp factor goes, but in flavor I bet they have them beat and here's hoping for crispIER.

That jar on the far left is Lily's

Grape Jelly

Grape jelly

Grape Jelly is not vegan because unlike blueberry, strawberry, raspberry or blackberry jam, you need Certo to make it gel. There is a plant-based version, but it's not something I can find here in town so I will probably need to order it online. For now, I guess I'll use the last couple boxes of Certo I have in my pantry.

Grapes on the vine

Grape arbor

Grape Jelly Recipe

Grape jelly is super easy to make but can make a huge mess.

Remove all the grapes off the stems and remove any green grapes. Rinse and transfer to a pot.

Bring to boil:
3 lbs grapes

Heat to a roiling boil then cook for 10 - 15 minutes, until grapes split and seeds separate from the fruit.

4.5 lbs of Concord grapes

Wrap in cheesecloth and hang overnight to drain juice.

Grape juice draining through linen

It's important not to squeeze the cheesecloth or linen while the grapes are draining. Just let them strain through on their own, overnight if possible. Squeezing can yield a cloudy result; we want the jelly to look like clear jewels.

Straining grape juice through linen

Combine:
4 cups grape juice
1 package pectin

Bring to a boil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Stir while at a rolling boil for one minute. Turn heat down to low.

Stir in:
6 1/2 cups sugar

Let sugar dissolve, then remove from heat. Pour into sterilized Mason jars. Process in water for 15 minutes.

Grape jelly

Strawberry Jam

This recipe for strawberry jam couldn't be easier. We used a combination of Kent and Alpine strawberries and it turned out amazing. Tastes so...strawberry-ish. Summery. Brings back the sticky sweetness of June. And is fabulous on homemade oatmeal-molasses bread.

Strawberry jam on oatmeal bread

Grow Some Strawberries

Strawberries are remarkably easy to grow, and seem to be pretty disease- and pest-resistant. I think anyone with a 4' square area of space could grow them.

Kent strawberries growing in the garden

There is nothing like picking a sun-ripened warm strawberry off the vine and dining right in your garden either. If you've never tried it, you should. We ate plenty and used plenty, but also set some aside to make our jam.

Bowl of Kent strawberries

Strawberry Jam Recipe 

I found this simple old-fashioned recipe in the Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving cookbook. It's filled with lots of great recipes and canning tips. It doesn't have my beloved Lady Ashburnham pickle recipe, but I forgive it for that since I understand that's really a regional recipe.

Ingredients
6 cups strawberries
6 cups sugar

Directions
Bring strawberries and sugar to a slow boil. (I had the stove set to 4 and it took about 15 - 20 minutes to begin boiling) and mash strawberries while stirring. Boil rapidly until they begin to gel. I boiled hard for about 15 minutes, maybe 20. I used the gel test.

Berries & sugar cooking

Remove from stove, skim off the foam and ladle into jars. This made 6-1/2 250 ml jars (3-1/4 pints).

Bottled strawberry jam

Gel Test

The gel test is when you spoon a drop of jam onto a saucer and place it in the freezer for one minute. When you remove it, slowly push your finger through the jam. If there is resistance (it wrinkles when you push it), it is at the gel stage and ready to bottle. This is an old trick my Mom taught me back in the learning days. It probably goes by other names and has variations, such as length of time in the freezer, but this is a tried and true method and probably better than just telling you how long to boil. Give it a test. As a bonus, you can then lick your finger and have your first taste of the jam you're making!