Canning 101: Dill Pickles and Carrots

What a day it was today!  I knew I had cucumbers to deal with, as we'd picked a bunch last night and I had lots leftover after I made mustard pickles last night, but I definitely had my hands full today! While I was busy making another round of mustard pickles and dill pickles, Kevin dug the rest of our carrots, so that was the next item on the agenda for the day.

I really hope these mustard pickles turn out.  It's a new recipe for us this year, but I've tasted the liquid going on the cucumbers, and it's definitely a tasty one.....so hurry up time so I can taste these pickles! I did another 9 pints of them today.  Seven of them went in the water bath canner, and the remaining two pints are in the fridge just waiting for time to pass so I can sample :)

The main pickle of the day, though, were dill pickles. I've always used Kevin's grandmother's recipe to make dill pickles. It's definitely an old-timey recipe - complete with a grape leaf in each quart jar, but they are so worth it. It really is a kosher dill pickle recipe, and the boys (and Kevin) just won't be happy if I don't make a bunch of these every summer. Depending on the size of your cucumbers, you can do them whole, sliced up into spears, or even make slices, which are really good on a hamburger.

Gram Worrell's Dill Pickles

4 quarts pickles, dill sized
3 quarts water
1 pint cider vinegar
3/4 cup canning salt
1/2 teaspoon alum

Put a washed grape leaf in the bottom of each quart jar. Add a head of dill, a clove of peeled garlic, a piece of hot pepper (optional), and a small onion (or piece of onion) into each quart jar.

Pack pickles in jars.

Mix all ingredients, except the cucumbers, and heat until just boiling. Pour into jars over cucumbers and seal.

Process in a water bath canner for approximately 10-15 minutes. Keep the temperature just below boiling, or your pickles will shrivel up.

Yield:  Approximately 6-7 quarts

As I had a huge tub of freshly dug carrots at my disposal today, what better way to preserve them but to can them? It's been years since we've had a decent crop of carrots. Usually the moles or shrews get to them before we dig them in the fall, so we got the jump on the critters this year, and I had a beautiful crop of carrots to can today.

How to Can Carrots

Trim and scrape carrots.  Slice or cut as desired.

Paw raw into sterilized jars (pint or quart jars per your preference). Cover with boiling water. Add salt (1 teaspoon per quart or 1/2 teaspoon per pint jar). Seal.

Process carrots in a pressure canner for 30 minutes at 10 pounds of pressure (for quarts) or 25 minutes at 10 pounds of pressure (for pints).