Mom’s Dill Pickles

Additional ingredients for each jar:

Whole dill stalks
Mixed pickling spices
Fresh garlic cloves ; peeled and sliced
Whole small dried chili peppers
Small pickling cucumbers
Alum powder

Have quart canning jars sterilized and ready before proceeding, along with new jar lids and rings.

Heat water, vinegar and salt to a boil. Place a whole stalk of dill with seeds and 1 teaspoon pickling spices into each quart jar, add sliced garlic and/or a few dried chilis and pack jar with washed, unpeeled small pickling cucumbers.

If you are using larger pickling cucumbers, you can cut them into spears for packing into the jars.

Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon alum over each jar of pickles, pour hot brine over to cover. Make more brine as needed to ensure that all cucumbers are completely covered in each jar.

Seal and process in water bath 10 minutes for quarts. Start counting time after water comes back to a boil.

Remove from water bath after time is up and cool on a towel on the counter. Check for proper seal after several hours (lid should be down and not ‘flex’ up when pressed in the middle).

Any jars not sealed will need to be refrigerated and used within a month. Pickles will need several weeks to cure in the brine and become pickles. Store jars in cool, dark place and refrigerate after opening.

NOTES: The chilis turn them into zesty dill pickles. We always made some jars with chilis and some with just the garlic.