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Expert Sweet Pickles

My grandma's 14 day sweet pickle recipe. These are the best!
Prep Time14 d
Course: Side Dish, Snack
Cuisine: American
Keyword: 14 Days, Canning, Expert Sweet Pickles, Family Favorites, Pickle, Pickles, Preserving, Sweet Pickle, Sweet Pickles

Ingredients

  • 50-75 pickling cucumbers (about 3" to 4" in length, not fat)
  • 2 C coarse pickling salt
  • water
  • 3 Tbsp alum (use 1 TBSP at a time)

Pickling Syrup

  • 10 C sugar
  • 5 C vinegar
  • 18 drops cinnamon oil
  • 18 drops clove oil
  • 2 Tbsp celery seeds
  • green food coloring (optional)

Instructions

Day 1

  • Wash pickling cucumbers and place in a stone crock or large container.
  • Combine pickling salt and 1 gallon of water.
  • Bring to a boil and pour over cucumbers.
  • Weigh cucumbers down with preserving weights or heavy plates.

Day 2-7

  • Remove weights or plates and stir pickles once a day.
  • Replace the weights and plates making sure cucubmers are emursed in the salt brine.

Day 8

  • Pour cucumbers into a large strainer. Rinse thoroughly with cold water.
  • Wash container also.
  • Cut off both tips of the cucumbers and toss, you don't want to use about 1/4" of each end. Cut cucumbers into bite size chunks or desired size and return to container.
  • Make alum solution by combining 1 gallon of water and 1 Tbsp of Alum.
  • Bring alum solution to a boil then pour over pickles in container.
  • Weigh cucumbers down with preserving weights or heavy plates.

Day 9 & 10

  • Drain cucumbers into a strainer.
  • Make new alum solution each day with 1 gallon of water and 1 Tbsp of Alum.
  • Bring alum solution to a boil then pour over pickles in container.
  • Weigh cucumbers down with preserving weights or heavy plates.

Day 11

  • Drain cucumbers into a strainer.
  • Wash container.
  • Return cucumbers to the container.
  • Make syrup by combining sugar, vinegar, cinnamon oil, clove oil, celery seeds, and green food coloring.
  • Stir and bring to a boil and pour over pickles in container. Careful not to let this boil over the pan! It bubbles quickly once it boils.
  • Weigh cucumbers down with preserving weights or heavy plates.

Day 12 & 13

  • Each day drain the syrup solution into a pan, leaving the cucumbers in containter.
  • Bring syrup to a boil.
  • Pour over cucumbers and weigh down.

Day 14

  • Drain the syrup solution into a pan.
  • Pack cucumbers into clean hot glass canning jars.
  • Bring syrup to a boil.
  • Fill jars with syrup just up to the neck of the jar making sure to cover the cucumbers.
  • Clean the top of the jars.
  • Heat lids in hot water then put one lid and a ring on each jar.
  • Heat 2 inches of water to a boiling in a large pot.
  • Flip jars upside down and place in boiling water.
  • Process for 5 minutes.
  • Flip jars over and place on a towel on the contertop.
  • Let sit for a day. Don't touch.

Day 15

  • Check to make sure each jar sealed.
  • If they didn't seal, repeat sealing process from day 14.
  • If they did seal, clean jars so they aren't sticky, dry, and put in pantry.