By Staff
You can always tell what season it is by the phone calls and requests we get for recipes. Right now it's pickling season.
Irene Jennings of Brewton is &#8220busy, busy, busy” with the bumper crop of vegetables her husband is harvesting. Irene quickly stated that since her husband Otis retired, he is busy farming, picking and doing all the shelling. She feels that she has the good part of the deal - &#8220putting it up!” So far, she and her friend Marie Bowman have put up over 100 quarts of Butter Beans, Dill Pickles, Pickle Okra, Bread and Butter Squash Pickles and Relishes. They prefer using the quart size jars for pickling because the pint size jars don't last long around her house.
Here are three of Irene's favorite recipes that are in The Food Preservation in Alabama cookbook. This book has the best food safety tips, the latest research based information and recipes for canning, freezing, making jams, jellies, drying, as well as making pickles and relishes. You may purchase a copy for only $8.00 from our office in Brewton – right behind Southern Pine Electric Cooperative on HWY 31 South; or in Atmore at Central Farm Supply. This book will make a great gift too!
Fresh-Packed Dill Pickles
17 pound cucumbers, 3 to 5 in. long  
9 cups water  
2 gallon water
2 tbsp. whole pickling spices
1 1/2 cup pure granulated salt
14 teaspoon whole mustard vinegar seed
6 cups cider vinegar
7 to 14 cloves garlic  
3 /4 cup pure granulated salt
21 heads fresh or dried dill plant (or 7 T. dillseed)
1 /4 cup sugar
Wash cucumbers thoroughly; scrub with vegetable brush, and drain. Mix 2 gallons of water and 1-1/2 cups salt together thoroughly, and cover cucumbers. Let sit overnight; drain.
Combine vinegar, salt, sugar, and water. Tie mixed pickling spices in a thin, white cloth. Add to vinegar mixture, and heat to boiling. Pack 7 to 10 cucumbers into each clean, hot, quart-sized standard canning jar. Add to each quart jar 2 teaspoons whole mustard seed, 1 or 2 cloves of garlic, and 3 heads of dill plant (or 1 tablespoon dillseed). Cover with boiling liquid to within 1/2 inch of top of the jar. Wipe jar mouth. Adjust lid. Process in boiling waterbath canner (212 degrees) for 20 minutes. (Start counting the processing time as soon as the hot jars are placed in the actively boiling water.)
Yield: 7 quarts  
Pickled Okra
2 Tablespoon salt
1 cup cider vinegar  
2 teaspoon dillseed
1 /4 cup water  
4 garlic cloves
2 pods hot pepper
Boil pint-sized standard canning jars for 15 minutes. Wash okra, using a vegetable brush. Bring the vinegar, water, and salt to a boil. Remove hot jars, and place washed okra in each jar. Add to each pint jar 1 teaspoon dillseed, 2 garlic cloves, and 1 pod of hot pepper. Pour boiling liquid mixture into each jar, covering okra. Leave 1/2 inch headspace. Wipe jar mouth. Adjust lid. Process in boiling waterbath canner (212 degrees F) for 5 minutes. Pickled okra will be ready to use in 4 to 6 weeks. Yield: 2 pints  
Important: If there is any sign of spoilage, discoloration, odor, etc., burn the contents. Clostridium botulinum, a very poisonous bacterium, is present in vegetables. These bacteria are generally destroyed at 10 pounds pressure for a given time; however, this recipe does not use pressure as a method of preserving. These bacteria do not readily live in an acid liquid, but it is possible. Therefore, it is extremely important that this pickled okra be given special care.
Bread and Butter Squash Pickles
8 cup thinly sliced yellow summer squash  
3 cup sugar
2 cups thinly sliced onions  
2 teaspoon celery seed
2 tbsp. salt (not iodized)  
2 teaspoon mustard seed
2-1/2 cup cider vinegar
4 sweet bell peppers, thinly sliced
Combine squash and onions. Sprinkle with salt. Set aside 1 hour. Drain off liquid. Combine vinegar, sugar, celery seed, mustard seed, and pepper. Bring to a hard boil. Add squash mixture. Bring to a boil. Pack into hot, pint-sized standard canning jars. Adjust lids and bands. Process in boiling waterbath canner (212 degrees) for 5 minutes. Yields about 6 pints.