General Method:

Use only freshly picked cucumbers for best results. Cucumbers that have been sitting for several days have lost moisture and will shrivel when pickled. If you're unable to pickle the cucumbers right away, choose a recipe that uses a pickling brine and fermentation process instead.

Wash cucumbers and cut 1⁄16 inch off the blossom end. Soak cucumbers in ice water for 4 to 5 hours prior to crisp the pickles.

Wash jars. Prepare lids according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Fill jars with pickles.

Wipe sealing edge of jars with a clean, damp paper towel. Add lids and tighten screw bands.

Process jars in a boiling-water canner.

Alternative Pasteurization Method:

Fill canner halfway with water and preheat to 180˚F for hot packs or 140˚F for raw packs.

Load sealed jars into the canner rack and lower with handles, or load one jar at a time with a jar lifter onto rack in canner.

Add water, if needed (use same temperature as water in canner to avoid cracking jars), to 1 inch above jars and cover.

When water boils vigorously, lower heat to maintain a gentle boil and begin counting processing time.

Ingredients:

8 lbs of 3 to 5-inch pickling cucumbers
2 gallons water
1 1/4 cups canning or pickling salt (divided)
1 1/2 qt vinegar (5%)
1/4 cup sugar
2 quarts water
2 tbsp. whole mixed pickling spice
3 tbsp. whole mustard seed
(2 tsp. per quart jar)
21 heads to about 14 heads fresh dill (3 heads to 1 1/2 heads per pint)
or 7 tbsp to 4 1/2 tbsp dill seed (1 tbsp. to 1 1/2 tsp. per pint)

Preparation:

Leave 1/4 inch of cucumber stem ends attached. Dissolve 3/4 cup of salt in 2 gallons of water. Pour brine water over cucumbers and let stand for 12 hours. Drain.

Combine vinegar, 1/2 cup of salt, sugar, and 2 quarts of water. Add mixed pickling spices tied in a clean white cloth. Heat to boiling.

Fill jars with cucumbers. Add 1 teaspoon of mustard seed and 1 1/2 heads of fresh dill per pint. Cover with boiling liquid, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Adjust lids and process pint jars for 10 minutes, quart jars 15 minutes in a boiling water bath canner.

Altitude adjustment: 1000-6000 feet, pints 15 minutes, quarts 20 minutes. 6000+ feet, pints 20 minutes, quarts 25 minutes.

Yield: 7 to 9 pints

Source: Pennsylvania State University in cooperation with the USDA