Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Sweet hot pickles




Here's a recipe for a great sweet and hot pickles that I recently tried with great success.
The whole process takes 9 days and requires just a few minutes every day to get it going. Spices to taste, specially the amount of hot peppers to be used.

  • 10lb young cucumbers
  • 3lb carrots, sliced in 1/4" strips
  • 1 gal apple cider vinegar
  • 7.5lb sugar
  • 4 cinnamon sticks
  • 5 habanero peppers
  • 20 cloves
  • 2 table spoons minced garlic
  • 2 table spoons Alum
  • 4 cups non-iodized salt
  • water
Equipment needed:

  •  large pot to boil up to 2 gallons of water
  •  large air tight bucket to fit at least 3 gallons.
  • large spoon and colander
  • 18 to 24 count of 16oz mason jars
Day by day process:

Day 1 - Chop cucumbers 1/2" thick, meanwhile boil 2 gallons of water with salt and steam cook the carrots to "al dente". Add cucumbers and cooked carrots to sanitized bucket and pour boiling salty water on top. Cover with a towel until warm and seal bucket. Leave at room temp (70F) till next 2 days.

Day 3 - Strain water out, boil new 2 gallons of water (no salt) and pour hot in bucket, repeat closing process as before.

Day 4 - Strain water out, boil new 2 gallons of water with Alum and pour hot in bucket, repeat closing process as before.

Day 5 -  Strain water out, boil new 2 gallons of water (no salt) and pour hot in bucket, repeat closing process as before.

Day 6 -  Strain water out. Boil the vinegar with 4.5lb sugar, cinnamon, chopped peppers, cloves and garlic. Pour hot in bucket with veggies. Repeat closing process as before.

Day 7 -  Strain out and collect all liquid, boil it adding 1lb of sugar and pour hot in bucket, repeat closing process as before

Day 8 - repeat day 7

Day 9 -  Canning day, sanitize all mason jars. Repeat day 7 but while liquid boils, fill the jars with veggies and fill it with boiling liquid, leaving 1/4in head space.Close lid tight and place jars into boiling water for 10min. Let it cool completely before storing.