14 Day Pickles

⏱ 130 mins 🍽 150 pickle spears, 150 serving(s) 🏷 Vegetable

This classic method for creating crisp pickled cucumber spears unfolds over a fortnight. The process involves a series of brining and soaking stages with salt, alum, and a sweet vinegar syrup. The extended preparation time results in a well-preserved, flavourful pickle with a satisfying crunch. You will end up with a substantial batch, ideal for long-term storage in jars or the refrigerator.

14 Day Pickles

Ingredients

  • 2 gallons pickling cucumbers, cut in spears
  • 1 gallon water
  • 2 cups salt
  • 1 gallon water
  • 2 tablespoons alum
  • 6 cups vinegar
  • 5 cups sugar
  • 1/8 cup pickling spices

Method

  1. Place the cucumber spears in a large pan with 1 gallon of water and the salt, then bring the mixture to a boil to dissolve the salt.
  2. Pour this brine over the cucumbers in a plastic or glass container and leave them on the counter for 7 days.
  3. After a week, drain the liquid away and cover the cucumbers with fresh plain water in the same container.
  4. The following day, drain the water and cover the cucumbers with a mixture of alum and freshly boiled water.
  5. On the tenth day, drain the liquid, cover the spears with boiling water once more, then allow them to cool before draining again.
  6. Heat the vinegar, sugar, and pickling spice together until boiling, then pour this hot syrup over the drained cucumbers and leave them on the counter.
  7. For the next four days, drain the syrup into a pan each day and stir in an additional 1 cup of sugar before pouring it back over the pickles.
  8. On the final day, the pickles are ready to be canned for shelf storage or kept in the refrigerator where they will last for years.

Nutrition (per serving)

Sodium1511000 mg

Recipe details

CategoryVegetable
Authorpostmakathie