A Mess

A mess.......

that's a Texas saying for enough to eat with a meal or enough to put up in the freezer or in my case, enough for canning.

I couldn't wait to get busy preparing this babies.

I have 28 cucumbers here. I will cut the ends off before slicing. 

Once I gave them a couple of good rinsings it was time to slice them up. I don't know where I purchased the gadget in this photo but it's one of the best items I have in my kitchen. I was able to slice 28 cucumbers with in 20 minutes.

Once the cucumbers were sliced, I placed them in a pickling lime/water bath for the next 24 hours or so. Phase two happens roughly twenty-four later which will include rinsing the lime off then placing the cucumbers in ice for about three hours which cools them down from the cooking chemicals of the lime. Then it's into a wonderful brine.

The brine is made with one half gallon apple cider vinegar; 4 lbs. sugar; 2 Tbsp. salt (on iodine); 2 Tbsp. Pickling spices (that's what's in the little bag). These ingredients will dissolve over a 3 hour period (stir occasionally) while cucumbers are cooling on ice.  

Drain ice from cucumbers then pour brine over cucumbers. Allow to sit for at least 12 hours.

 

I will start the actual canning tomorrow.