Grandma's Bread & Butter Pickles
My grandmother’s garden always overflowed with cucumbers, and that was, of course, by design. Those cucumbers were a hot commodity. Without them, she couldn’t make our favorite thing: bread and butter pickles.
Jar upon jar of bread and butter pickles were canned after the harvest—enough to hold us over to the following year!
Bread and butter pickles are a time honored tradition in my family, and today I want to share that tradition with you.
So let’s get started!
INGREDIENTS
4LBS of sliced cucumbers
4 small onions (sliced thin)
2 sweet peppers (finely sliced)
5 1/2 cups of sugar
4 1/2 cups white vinegar
2 1/2 TBS mustard seed
2 1/2 TSP of celery seed
2 TSP turmeric
1 TSP ground cloves
Bag of ice
This recipe will yield 7 pint jars of bread and butter pickles.
STEP ONE:
Take you sliced cucumbers, onions, and sweet peppers, and put them in a roaster. Completely cover them with ice, and refrigerate them over night. This makes sure that your final product will stay crisp!
In the morning, drain the ice, rinse, then drain again.
Step Two:
In a dutch oven, add the vinegar, sugar, and seasonings, and allow it to come to a boil. At this point, add the cucumbers, peppers, and onions, and allow it to come to a boil again before removing the dutch oven from the heat.
STEP THREE:
Ladle the mixture into pint jars. Be very, very careful! It is very easy to burn yourself here so pay attention to what you’re doing.
Leave at least 1/2 an inch of space and try to remove the air bubbles before wiping the rim and putting lids on the jars.
STEP FOUR:
Now it is time to process! These pickles need processed for fifteen minutes in your canner.
For more information about canning, you can view this video.
STEP FIVE:
Once they are done processing, you’re done! After they’ve cooled and all is well, your pickles are ready to go. Add them to sandwiches, crackers, or just eat them on their own!
I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!