Yooper Food

Pickles, Cucumbers

General Rules for Pickles

Cucumbers for pickling must be fresh picked, not over 24 hours old. Dill is best, when seeds are full grown, but not so ripe that the seeds fall off the stalk. Use common salt, not table salt. Use pickling vinegar.

Pickles will spoil if not kept completely under the brine. About ½ their measure in brine will cover cucumbers. (½ gallon brine covers one gallon of cucumbers). Mix salt with small amount of water, then add the rest of the water. A salt brine that will just lift up an egg or a potato from the bottom of the crock is a 10% solution, or 1 cup salt to 9 cups water. A weak brine, ½ cup salt to 9 cups water (5%) or less, will cause quicker fermentation, but pickles kept in this brine will spoil in a few weeks, unless the scum that rises to top of jar is constantly skimmed off and the brine is clear.

It is best when all fermentation stops, when the pickles are done, to remove them to jars, cover them with their own brine, or add fresh cooled brine, and seal.

Pickles will shrivel if too much sugar or salt is added at one time or if vinegar is too strong. Pickles that are cured, salt pickles or dill pickles, may be made into sweet, sour, or mixed pickles and will not shrivel. --The Settlement Cook Book, by Mrs. Simon Kander, 1930

Cherry Leaf Pickles

• 25 large cucumbers
• 2 quarts cherry leaves
• 1 pint vinegar
• 1 piece alum
• 3 tbsp. caraway seed
• 3 lbs. sugar
• ¼ cup mixed spices

Place large, thin cucumbers (dill pickle size) in a 2-gallon crock, alternately with cherry leaves and caraway seed, having cherry leaves at the bottom and at the top of the crock. Cover with salt water (½ cup salt to 1 gallon water). Let stand for 14 days, making sure that the cucumbers are weighted so as to remain under the brine. Drain, and cut cucumbes in 1 inch pieces. Pack in quart jars. Invert jars to drain. Let stand for one hour. Make a syrup, using 3 lbs. sugar to 1 pint vinegar, adding a small piece of alum and ¼ cup mixed spices tied in a bag. Pour boiling hot water over the pickles, and seal.

Easy Pickles

• 25 cucumbers
• 1 cup ground mustard
• 2 quarts vinegar
• 1 quart water
• 1 cup salt
• 2 cups sugar

Soak small cucumbers in cold water to freshen. Mix dry ingredients, and add vinegar gradually to dissolve the mustard. Pour mixture over as many cucumbers as it will cover. Add fresh cucumbers from day to day until the crock is full. Then cover with plate and weight down. Ready for use in several weeks.

Estragon Pickles

• 25 cucumbers
• 12 bay leaves, dried
• 1 stalk dried estragon
• 1 horseradish root, diced
• 2 tbsp. white peppercorns
• 2 quarts vinegar
• 1 quart water
• 1 cup salt
• ½ lb. mustard seed
• ½ whole white pepper

Soak cucumbers in cold water for twelve hours, or overnight. Drain and wipe. Place over each layer of cucumbers 2-3 blossom ends of dill, 3-4 ½-inch pieces of estragon (stalks and leaves), a few small pieces of horseradish root, 1 tbsp. of whole white pepper, and 3-4 dried bay leaves. Make a brine of 2 quarts vinegar, 1 quart water, and 1 cup salt; beat together until it foams, and pour over the pickles to cover. Cover the whole with a bag, made to fit the top of the crock. Pour mustard seeds in bag and sew up. Cover with plate and stone, and keep in a cool, dry place for 5-6 weeks.

Homemade Dill Pickles

• 17-18 lbs. cucumbers (3-5 inch)
• 10 garlic cloves
• 21 heads fresh or dried dill (or 7 tbsp. dill seed)
• 2 tbsp. whole mixed pickling spices
• 14 tsp. whole mustard seed
• 2-3 gallons 5% brine (1½ to 2¼ cups salt in water)
• 9 cups water
• 6 cups vinegar
• ¾ cup salt
• ¼ cup sugar

Scrub cucumbers thoroughly, rinse and drain. Cover pickles with 5% brine, let stand overnight, and then drain. Combine vinegar, ¾ cup salt, sugar, and 9 cups water in large saucepan. Tie pickling spices in cheesecloth, and add to vinegar mixture. Bring to a boil. Pack cucumbers in 7 hot sterilized quart jars. To each jar, add 2 tsp. mustard seed, 1-2 cloves garlic, and 3 heads of dill (or 1 tsp. dill seed). Add boiling liquid to within ½-inch of top of jar. Seal and process in boiling water bath for 20 minutes.

Sandwich Pickles

• 1 quart sliced cucumbers
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• ¼ cup salt
• ¼ tumeric
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp. mustard seed
• ½ tsp. celery seed
• 1 tbsp. mixed spices
• 1 pint cider vinegar
• 2 quarts water

Use large, green cucumbers. Scrub well, cut off the ends, but do not peel. Dissolve salt in water, and pour over onions and cucumbers. Let stand for 3 hours, then drain. Add mustard, sugar, celery seed, and the mixed spices tied in a bag, to the vinegar and bring it to a boil. Add onions and cucumbers. Bring to a boil again. Add tumeric, stir, and let cool. Seal when cold.

Sliced Cucumbers, Peeled

• 6 large cucumbers
• ¼ cup button onions
• 1 cup olive oil
• 1 pint vinegar
• 1 cup water
• 1 tbsp. tiny red peppers
• 2 tbsp. mustard seed
• ¼ cup sugar

Take large salad cucumbers, and peel. Slice ¼-inch thick, and place in salt water (½ cup salt to 1 quart water). Let stand overnight, or for several hours. Strain. Place, in sterilized pint jars, layers of pickles, a few tiny onions, and the small red peppers. Set aside. Boil sugar, vinegar, and water. Cool, and pour over the pickles. Add ½ tsp. mustard seed to each bottle, then olive oil to cover the cucumbers. Seal.

Sliced Oil Pickles

• 50 cucumbers, 3 inches long
• 2 medium onions
• 1 quart vinegar
• 1 cup salad oil
• ½ cup salt
• ½ oz. mustard seed
• ½ oz. celery seed
• 1 cup sugar

Slice cucumbers, without peeling, 1/8 inch thick. Slice onions. Sprinkle with salt, and let stand for twelve hours, then drain. Add the rest of the ingredients, and mix well. Set aside for a few hours. Pack in sterilized jars with liquid. Adjust rubbers, place covers on loosely. Put jars in warm water bath, and let simmer for 15 minutes. Seal.

Small Dill Pickles

• thin cucumbers, 3-4 inches
• small red peppers
• horseradish root
• dill
• 1 cup salt
• 4 quarts water

Add the salt to the water, to form a 1:16 solution. Scrub the pickles, and place them in sterilized jars. Between each layer, place a few blossom ends of dill, diced horseradish root, and small pieces of red peppers. Pour salt water solution over pickles to cover, and arrange the stems of dill across the top of the jar to keep pickles under the brine. Seal. Add more salt water the next day, if necessary to cover. Watch for a week, and if brine has oozed out, add more fresh brine to fully cover, and seal.

Summer Dill Pickles

• 100 large cucumbers
• 1 oz. peppercorns
• 5 stalks dill
• bay leaves
• grape or cherry leaves
• 5 quarts water
• 1 cup vinegar
• 1 cup salt
• ¼ cup whole black pepper

Soak cucumbers in cold water overnight, or for about twelve hours. Drain and dry. Place in layers of 2 rows cucumbers, then 3 or 4 blossom ends of dill and a teaspoon of whole black pepper. Repeat, covering the top layer well with dill and adding some cherry or grape leaves. To 4½ quarts of water, add 1 cup of salt. Boil, and when cool, pour over the pickles to cover. Cover with a cloth. Weigh well with plate, to keep the pickles under the brine. Let stand in a warm place to ferment for one week. One cup of vinegar may now be added. Rinse off scum that arises on cloth every day in warm weather, and once or twice a week when the weather is cooler. Or, when pickles are done, add the vinegar and pack in 2-quart sterilized jars, add fresh dill, cover with brine, and seal. Pickles will keep hard all winter if you keep them cool and in a dry place.

Sweet Pickles, Whole

• 50 small cucumbers
• 1 bunch dill
• 3 cups vinegar
• 1 cup water
• ½ cup salt
• 2 cups sugar
• ¼ cup mixed spices

Soak cucumbers in salt water overnight (1/3 cup salt to 1 quart water). Drain and dry. Boil vinegar, water, and sugar for ten minutes, or until clear. Add cucumbers, and let stand over low fire until they lose their grass-green color. Place 1 tsp. mixed spices and a few dill blossoms in each jar, add pickles, cover with hot syrup, place dill on top, and seal.

• 5 lbs. small cucumbers
• 1 quart vinegar
• 2 cups sugar
• salt
• 1 tbsp. mustard seed
• 1 tbsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. allspice
• 1 tsp. cloves

Soak cucumbers overnight in 2 tbsp. salt in 1 quart water. The next morning, heat the brine, skim it, and pour it over the cucumbers. Let it stand for two days, drain but save the brine. Heat brine again, pour over cucumbers, and let stand another two days. Drain, heat the brine once more, and let it stand for two days. On the eighth day, drain and throw away the brine. Place the cucumbers in preserving kettle, add vinegar, sugar, a little salt, and spices tied in a bag. Heat through, remove the spices, and place in clean, hot jars. Seal.

Swedish Pickles

• 1 bushel large, ripe cucumbers
• 1 pint small onions
• 12 little red peppers for each jar
• ½ cup black & white pepper, fresh ground
• 15 bay leaves
• ½ cup mustard seed
• 11 cups sugar
• 2 gallons white vinegar

Peel the cucumbers, half and scrape out the seeds. Put in crock with coarse salt, and let stand overnight. In the morning, let drain for two hours, then wipe with a cloth. Put them, a few at a time, in boiling vinegar. Let heat through, put in crocks, and sprinkle a few little onions and red peppers. Add the sugar and spices to 6 quarts of vinegar, and bring it to a boil. Pour the boiling vinegar over the pickles. --1937

Water Pepper Pickles
Water pepper (persicaria hydropiper), also known as smart weed, grows in Upper Peninsula swamps.

Make a brine strong enough to hold up an egg. Wash cucumbers. Heat brine hot and pour over the cucumbers. Let stand for 24 hours. Pour off the brine, heat it hot and pour over the cucumbers again. Repeat this the third morning. Then, the fourth morning, pour off the brine and cover the pickles with clear boiling water, and let stand for 24 hours. Then put horseradish root in the bottom of the jar and pack the pickles in, mixing pieces of horseradish root with them. To each gallon of pickles, add vinegar to cover, one pound of brown sugar, one ounce cinnamon bark, one ounce whole allspice, one ounce ground mustard, a level tablespoon of alum, and a handful of water peppers (the smarty kind with the white flowers). Heat the vinegar and other ingredients to boiling, then pour over the pickles and put on a light weight to keep them submerged. They will be ready to eat in a few days. Tie allspice in a sack to keep from making the pickles dark. --1938

Winter Dill Pickles

• 100 large cucumbers
• 1 large bunch dill
• 1 small horseradish root, diced
• ¾ cup vinegar
• 10 quarts water
• 1 cup salt

Soak large, thin cucumbers (4 inches or more) in salt water overnight (1 cup salt to 4 quarts water). Drain and wipe dry. Place in sterilized jars with layers of dill and small pieces of horseradish. Boil 4 quarts water, ½ cup salt, and ¼ cup vinegar, and pour boiling hot over the pickles, being careful not to crack the glasses. Put on rubber and seal in 2-quart air-tight jars. If the brine should ooze out within a week, do not disturb, and when active fermentation stops, pour over enough fresh cooled brine to cover, and seal. Or, instead of pouring the boiling hot brine over the pickles, make a brine by boiling 10 quarts of water, 1 quart of vinegar, and 2 cups of salt; let cool and pour over pickles in jars, and seal.

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