Henry's Homemade Pickles

My father-in-law, Henry, loved cucumbers and pickles. But in his later years he needed to cut his salt intake appreciably. Now my wife and I find ourselves in the same predicament. So we pulled out Dad's recipe for making pickles and once again we can enjoy this wonder accompaniment. I've listed the recipe as it was originally written with my changes in brackets [].

HENRY'S HOMEMADE PICKLES

• 3 pickling cucumbers (each about 4 inches in length, sliced evenly)

• [I used seedless cukes due to diet restriction]

• ¼ cup Vidalia onion, sliced thinly

• 3-5 sprigs fresh dill weed [I used dried dill weed – about 2 Tablespoons]

• ½ cup apple cider vinegar

• ½ cup water

• 2 cloves garlic, smashed [I used freeze dried garlic – about 2 Tablespoons]

• 1 ½ teaspoons pickling salt or kosher salt [again, due to diet restrictions I did not add salt]

• ¼ teaspoon granulated sugar [I used sugar substitute]

• ¼ teaspoon whole black peppercorns

• ¼ teaspoon whole yellow mustard seeds

• Pinch crushed red pepper flakes

[I replaced the peppercorns and mustard seeds with ½ teaspoon pickling spice]

Instructions

1. In a small pot heat the vinegar, water, garlic, and all spices and sugar until the mixture comes to a simmer and salt and sugar dissolve.

2. Cool the brine down to warm.

3. Pack a clean pint-sized jar with sliced cucumbers, onion slices, and dill sprigs. Leave ½ inch of space at the top of the jar. [I reused sterilized pickle jars from the cupboard. Be sure to run them through the dishwasher before using.]

4. Fill the jar so everything is covered with brine.

5. Close the lid tightly and refrigerate for at least 24 hours before eating.

This recipe is made to fill a 1 pint jar. Multiply quantities and adjust per number and size of jars desired.

NOTE:

I had 7 of the small pickling cucumbers and adjusted quantities to fill 2 jars.

They longer they sit in the refrigerator, the better they taste.

One batch normally lasts us around 12 to 14 weeks.