Category: Gardening

First time making pickles Mistakes!
So for the first time ever, I made some Sweet Mustard Pickles!!!!!  This was my first time canning and boy, did I ever learn a lot! My biggest lessons:
1. A canning funnel is a must, or a funnel of sorts that will fit pickles!
2. Reg dollar store tongs(the tongs with the sharp edges pic) to get the jars out of hot water and the covers(the sharp edges help to get uder the covers that lay on the bottom of the pot), should be a must, those things were hot!
3. Mustard sauce will stain your counter, next time I will sit jars on a plate.
4. Mustard stains off the counter, plastic? Yep it will come off,  paper towel folded up and held over the top of the bleach bottle to wet, then wipe over the stain and gone! (then wash the counter afterwards good) My counter is the plastic kind.
5. Do not peel the cucumbers, jsut remove the seeds(or don’t)! I peeled my first batch thinking it would taste better.. WRONG lol They need the skin for the added crunch.

Overall they were edible, but here is the RIGHT recipe with detailed instructions for  beginner pickling! 🙂

Recipe Small Batch Sweet Mustard Pickles:

• 2-3 large cucumbers not peeled but seeded and sliced
• 1-2 cups cauliflower florets (1 small head washed and rinsed well)
• 1 onion peeled and sliced(use rubber gloves to cut if you donot like the onion smell on your hands afterwards)
• 1/2 cup pickling salt(not regular salt, apparently it makes a big difference)
• 6 cups water
• 3 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons dry mustard(got spices at Bulk Barn in Yarmouth cheap!)
• 1 tablespoon celery seed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons turmeric
• 3 cups vinegar white or apple cider 5%
• 1/2 cup water

1. THE DAY BEFORE: Combine salt with  water, stirring until dissolved in a large container(they say to use non reactive but i really have no clue what that means? maybe not metal? but thats what I used? ok moving on! 🙂 ). Cut the ends off of each cucumber and cut in half. Take a spoon and scoop out the seeds by dragging it down the middle of the cucumber half.  Cut into quaters and cut into thick slices. Place cucumbers, chopped up califlower and sliced and parted onions in the salted water.  Make sure vegetables are covered in the water, or dissolve a table spoon of salt in a few cups of water and pour over to have them covered.
   I use gloves for cutting up the onions because I hate the smell it leaves on my hands, then you dont ahve to wait days to get the onion smell off your hands! 🙂
2. THE NEXT DAY: Get a large pot of  water and put jars and covers in the pot and start the boiling. You need to get your jars ready, you cannot over boil them so take your time!
3. SOOO its been 24 hours! Drain the vegetables well, and rinse them well in cold water a few times, you want to get the salt taste off a little!
4. In another pot, combine sugar, flour, mustard, celery seeds and tumeric in a large saucepan, stir these dry ingredients until well mixed. Mix in vinegar and water. (while stiring proceed to step 5!!)Then bring to to a boil over high heat stirring constantly, until smooth and thickened.
5. Remove hot jars(not covers, keep them boiling) from boiling water(with tongs) while the sauce is cooking. Stuff with just the veggies and sit aside uncovered(I used the funnel and a cup to get the veggies in)
6. When the sauce is done, pour immediately into the jars(using the jar funnel again if you have one) watching the sauce sink and waiting for it to go through the veggies, take a butter knife to remove the bubbles!!!! 🙂
7. After jars are full, remove covers(the tongs should get them out leave the water boiling), wipe rims with a damp cloth and using over mits or a dishtowel, put the covers on tightly and immediately return to the boiling water. NOTE: you may need to remove some of the water as the jars are now full!
8. Process 10 minutes for pints (500 ml) jars and 15 minutes for quart (1 L) jars.
9. Now take the jars out of the boiling water, I dump the water down the sink and grab the bottles with oven mitts.
10. Wait for the popping!!!! To know the jars are sealed, you will hear the covers pop as they cool, this could take 2 minutes or 2 hours, but you can always check by pushing the cover to see if it moves.

These instructions are as detailed as I can remember to answer all the questions I had as this was my first time, my second time went much better this these few mistakes corrected!

Why make pickles? Well honestly to save money, it’s cheap, they make great gifts and I enjoy it! 🙂

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