*(for use in variation below for making firmer pickles)

May be canned as either strips or slices.

Procedure: Wash cucumbers. Cut 1/16-inch off blossom end and discard, but leave 1/4 inch of stem attached. Slice or cut in strips, if desired. Place in bowl and sprinkle with 1/3 cup salt. Cover with 2 inches of crushed or cubed ice. Refrigerate 3 to 4 hours. Add more ice as needed. Drain well.

Combine sugar, vinegar, celery seed, allspice, and mustard seed in 6-quart kettle. Heat to boiling.

Hot pack-Add cucumbers and heat slowly until vinegar solution returns to boil. Stir occasionally to make sure mixture heats evenly. Fill sterile jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. For more information see "Jars and Lids".

Raw pack-Fill jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Add hot pickling syrup, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Adjust lids and process according to the recommendations in Table 1 or use the low-temperature pasteurization treatment. For more information see "Low-Temperature Pasteurization Treatment".

Variation for firmer pickles: Wash cucumbers. Cut 1/16-inch off blossom end and discard, but leave 1/4-inch of stem attached. Slice or strip cucumbers. Mix 1 cup pickling lime and 1/2 cup salt to 1 gallon water in a 2- to 3-gallon crock or enamel-ware container. Caution: Avoid inhaling lime dust while mixing the lime-water solution. Soak cucumber slices or strips in lime water solution for 12 to 24 hours, stirring occasionally. Remove from lime solution and rinse and resoak 1 hour in fresh cold water. Repeat the rinsing and resoaking two more times. Handle carefully because slices or strips will be brittle. Drain well.

Storage: After processing and cooling, jars should be stored 4 to 5 weeks to develop ideal flavor.

cucumbers.

Table 1. Recommended process time for Quick Sweet Pickles in a boiling-water canner.

Style of Pack: Hot. Jar Size: Pints or Quarts. Process Time at Altitudes of 0 - 1, 000 ft: 5 min.

1, 001 - 6, 000 ft: 10 min.

Above 6, 000 ft: 15 min.

Style of Pack: Raw. Jar Size: Pints. Process Time at Altitudes of 0 - 1, 000 ft: 10 min.

1, 001 - 6, 000 ft: 15 min.

Above 6, 000 ft: 20 min.

Style of Pack: Raw. Jar Size: Quarts. Process Time at Altitudes of 0 - 1, 000 ft: 15 min.

1, 001 - 6, 000 ft: 20 min.

Above 6, 000 ft: 25 min.

======================================================= === * Usda

courtesy of Karen Mintzias