Pickles In Process

As promised, the pickling has in fact begun again.  Earlier this week, we jumped right in.  Consulting my trusty The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving, I decided to start off with a classic recipe.  Things got a little heated in the kitchen, both on the stove and for me personally.  As it was my first time actually using a boiling-water canner, I was a little nervous.  Fortunately for me, my partner in brine has a level head and was able to prevent me–and the canner–from boiling over.

For my makeshift canner, I used a very large pot with a steamer basket unfurled at the bottom, thus lifting the quart jars up from the base, while still allowing them to be completely submerged in the boiling water.  My pickling tools worked well for the most part, especially the tongs; the only problem I found was that the magnetic lid lifter was too short.  Then again, I suppose it was never meant for using in a billion quart pot.

So now the question is how will they taste?  And, more importantly, how will we be able to wait to try them for the three or four weeks?  Perhaps I’ll throw a quickle together to satisfy any cravings.

Next up will be an attempt at salt-free dills.  More to come…

photos by Andrew Wilder