Three Jars of Pickles Pickling

Some of the bounty from our garden....I am not a huge cucumber fan....and neither is anyone else in the family.  We are, however, pickle fans! 

I got this recipe from my stepmother's sister.  She has been making them for years and I have been enjoying them for years!  I can tell you right up front that when I layered the cucumbers and onions it came to the top of the jar.  This confused me (not hard to do).  So while the recipe calls for 2 jars I just didn't see how it would all fit.  So I did three jars and doubled the vinegar/spice mixture, thinking I needed it to come to the top of the jar.  Of course once I poured the vinegar mixture in I realized that the cucumbers and onions sort of squish down/condense an it could have all fit into two jars with one vinegar mixture.  Live and learn.  They still taste great.

So here is the recipe:

Easy Refrigerator Pickles

These are like a bread and butter pickle

6 cups thinly sliced cucumbers

2 cups thinly sliced onions

1 ½ cups sugar

1 ½ cups vinegar

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon mustard seed

½ teaspoon celery seed

½ teaspoon ground turmeric

    In a glass or crockery bowl, alternately layer the sliced cucumbers and onions.  In a medium saucepan combine sugar, vinegar, salt, mustard seed, celery seed, and ground turmeric; bring to boiling, stirring just till sugar is dissolved.  Pour vinegar mixture atop cucumber-onion mixture; cool slightly.  Cover tightly.  Refrigerate pickles at least 24 hours before serving.  Store up to 1 month in refrigerator.  Makes 7 cups.

Note.  I put the cucumbers and onions in storage jars and then pour the mixture of vinegar, sugar etc. over them and keep in the refrigerator for longer than one month.  I’ve had them a lot longer than that and they are still good, maybe just not as crunchy.