Zesty Bread & Butter Pickles Recipe & Canning

Wash the jars, lids, and bands in warm, soapy water and rinse well. Place the jars right side up in a boiling‑water canner fitted with a canning rack. Do not boil lids. Add warm water until it covers the jars by about 1 inch. Bring the water to a boil and boil the jars for 10 minutes if you are below 1,000 feet elevation; add 1 minute of boiling time for every additional 1,000 feet. Reduce the heat and keep the jars hot until you’re ready to fill them.

Wash the cucumbers. This recipe makes 6 pints total. I did 3 jars of slices, which are great on burgers and sandwiches, and 3 jars of petite spears, which I like serving alongside sandwiches or on charcuterie boards. Persian cucumbers are naturally crisp with tender skin, pale green flesh, and small, soft edible seeds. Their texture stays crunchy, and their mild, refreshing flavor makes them perfect for pickling.

For spears, measure and cut the cucumbers to fit your jars, keeping the ¼‑inch headspace in mind and remembering they’ll shrink slightly during canning. Trim off both ends of each cucumber and discard or compost them.

For cucumber slices, cut the cucumbers into your desired thickness.

Make the brine. In a non‑reactive stainless‑steel pan, bring 5 cups white vinegar and 4 cups sugar to a boil. Once the sugar has dissolved, add 2 tablespoons mustard seed, 2 tablespoons freeze‑dried minced red bell pepper (or fresh, seeded and minced), 1½ tablespoons dehydrated minced onion (or fresh minced onion), ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon pickling salt, ½ teaspoon celery seed, ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric, and 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Simmer for 10–15 minutes.

Place ⅛ teaspoon of pickle crisp in the bottom of each jar; it helps the pickles stay crunchy. Carefully fill the hot jars with the sliced cucumbers, packing them in tightly.

Ladle the hot brine over the cucumbers in the jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Make sure there are no large pockets of air trapped around the cucumbers with a bubble-spatula tool.

Wipe the rims of the jars so there is nothing to prevent them from sealing.

Place the lids and bands on the jars, tightening the bands to fingertip tightness — snug, but not overly tight.

Carefully lower the jars into the boiling water, keeping them upright. When using a jar lifter, make sure it is securely positioned below the neck of the jar (below the screw band of the lid). Tilting the jar could cause food to spill into the lid's sealing area. Make sure the water covers the jars by 1–2 inches. Place the lid on the canner. Begin timing once the water returns to a full boil. Process pints 10 minutes and quarts for 15 minutes at elevations from sea level to 1,000 feet. For 1,001–6,000 feet, process pints for 15 minutes and quarts for 20 minutes. For 6,000 feet and above, process pints for 20 minutes and quarts for 25 minutes. When the processing time is complete, turn off the heat, move the canner off the burner if possible, and carefully remove the lid. Let the jars rest in the hot water for 5 minutes before lifting them out. Place the jars upright on a towel‑lined countertop and leave them undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours. Jars may take several hours to seal, though many seal within the first 30 minutes or even during processing. After 12 hours, check the seals and clean the jars. Label with contents and date—store sealed jars for up to one year. Refrigerate any jars that did not seal.

Enjoy!

For more pickling and canning recipes, check out these:

• Giardiniera (Pickled Vegetables)
• Pickled Cherry Peppers Recipe & Canning
• Pickled Whole Tangerine Peppers
• Pickled & Canned Jalapeno Peppers
• Spicy Pickled Dilly Beans (Pickled Green Beans)
• Garlic & Dill Pickled Asparagus with Canning Instructions
• Dill Pickles Recipe & Canning
• Pickled Red Beets Recipe & Canning