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Shirley’s Garlic Dill Pickles

I hope you’re shopping your local farmers' markets for the freshest and best the season has to offer. One of the many vegetables you’ll see in abundance soon are pickling cucumbers and I highly recommend you do what my family did when I was young. Make pickles. When pickling cucumbers appeared at the market Mom Shirley declared this special time of year, “Pickle Time” and it was an annual event at our house.

As a kid, my job was scrubbing cucumbers in the bathtub, harvesting and cleaning the dill and, the one job that set me on me on a culinary carpet ride, cleaning the garlic.

Pickles make wonderful holiday gifts and last year my cousin Carol surprised me with a memory-filled delicious gift of my mom’s pickles. When I opened her present on Christmas morning I had to do a double take. There, buried in tissue paper were jars of dill pickles with labels that read, “Shirley’s Garlic Dill Pickles.” I was instantly taken back to Pickle Time.


For me, Carol’s gift was a combination of cherished memories and incredible taste. This year I'm making Shirley’s Garlic Dill Pickles for myself as well as for holiday gifts because they're nothing like the pickles you find in a store with their distinct fresh flavor. I suggest you do the same!


Shirley’s Garlic Dill Pickles

Makes 8 to 12 quarts depending on the size of the pickles, and how tight they are packed into the jars.


Ingredients:

About 1/4 bushel medium-size pickling cucumbers, washed and scrubbed well and soaked in cold water overnight

8-12 teaspoons dill seed, divided

Fresh heads and stems of dill, 1 head per jar

8-12 large garlic cloves, peeled and halved


Brine:

3 cups white vinegar, scant measurement

1 cup cider vinegar

3 quarts water

1 cup canning salt (using others salts will make the brine cloudy)


Directions:

In a saucepan, bring all brine ingredients to a rolling boil.

Heat canning jars and rings in boiling water to sterilize, using caution when removing.


Pack each jar with the following as tight as possible*:

1 teaspoon dill seed

1 head of fresh flowered dill, and 3 pieces of the stem

2 halves cleaned garlic

Pack the dill pickles tightly in each jar, leaving one-inch of space at top


Pour boiling brine over pickles.

Wipe the rim of each jar with a damp, clean paper towel. This will assist in sealing the lid.


Seal jars with new lids (never reuse lids) and rings.


Process jars of pickles

Fill a deep stockpot or canning kettle with enough water to cover your jars by a good inch. Bring to boil. Place a canning rack, or folded kitchen towel, in the bottom of the kettle. With sturdy tongs lift each jar into the pot, Cover and simmer gently for 10 minutes adding additional hot water if necessary. With tongs remove the jars from the water bath and set on a dishtowel to cool.


You will hear the pinging of the lids sealing, you can also check in 12 hours to make sure the center of the lids look concave.


Let cool and using permanent marker label and date. They should set up for 6 weeks and can be stored for up to 12 months.


* Feel free to add stalks of celery to your pickle jars when packing. They give Martinis and Bloody Marys an extra bump of flavor. Quite wonderful.



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