16 Day Pickles
This is a cherished family pickle recipe passed down through generations. The method requires a 16-day process of brining, treating with alum, and finally preserving the cucumbers in a sweet, spiced vinegar syrup. The result yields eight quarts of crisp, flavourful pickles. The total active preparation time is around 45 minutes, spread across the multi-day preserving schedule.
Ingredients
- 2 gallons cucumbers
- 1 tablespoon alum
- 1 cup pickling salt
- 10 lbs sugar
- 2 quarts white vinegar
- 3 tablespoons pickling spices
- 2 cinnamon sticks
Method
- Wash the cucumbers thoroughly.
- Submerge them in a salt water solution made with 1 cup of pickling salt per 1 gallon of water.
- Allow the cucumbers to sit in this brine for a week.
- Remove any scum that forms on the surface each day.
- Ensure the pickles remain completely covered by the brine at all times.
- After a week, drain the brine and cover the cucumbers with fresh boiling water.
- Let them sit for 24 hours.
- Drain the water, slice the cucumbers, and cover them once more with boiling water.
- Stir in 1 large tablespoon of alum.
- Leave the cucumbers to stand for three days.
- Drain the liquid away.
- Cover the sliced cucumbers with boiling water again.
- Allow them to sit overnight.
- Drain the water off completely.
- Cover the pickle slices with the prepared syrup and let them stand for four days.
- To make the syrup, combine 10 pounds of sugar, 2 quarts of white vinegar, 3 tablespoons of pickling spices, and a couple of cinnamon sticks.
- Place the pickling spices and cinnamon sticks into a cheesecloth bag and tie it securely.
- Add the spice bag to the sugar and vinegar mixture and bring it to a boil.
- Drain the syrup from the pickles after four days and heat it until it boils again.
- On the fourth day, pack the pickles into hot, sterilised jars.
- Pour the hot syrup over the pickles in the jars and seal them immediately.
Nutrition (per serving)
Sodium14166800 mg
Recipe details
Category< 60 Mins
AuthorKaykwilts
