PICKLES MADE WITHOUT VINEGAR RECIPES

Steps:

• Put the quart jar (s) in a large pot, cover and bring to a boil.
• Boil them for 10 minutes.
• Remove and empty them.
• Put the salt, spices and garlic in the bottom of a sterilized quart jar.
• The amount listed is for one jar.
• Add a little water to dissolve the salt.
• Pack- I say PACK!
• -with cucumbers and a couple heads of dill, as tightly as possible, without breaking the cucumbers.
• Leave a little headroom.
• Fill up with water, leaving 1" headroom at the top.
• Cap lightly for 24 hours, then tighten and store for 6 weeks in a cool dark place.
• Use sterilized lids and rings to cap.
• (Boil both for 5 minutes.).
• Place on newspaper in case they leak while fermenting.
• Store in a cool dark spot- a basement is ideal.
• I make these every year for fear that my father might disown me if I failed to make him 6 or 8 jars for his Christmas present.

Steps:

• Cut 1/16" off the ends of the cucumbers and scrub very well (leaving the blossom end on can lead to spoilage).
• Soak the cucumbers in ice water for a couple of hours.
• When cucumbers are almost done soaking, Mix the salt and water.
• Sterilize or wash your giant pickle jar (about a gallon) from the food warehouse. Make sure you have properly disposed of all the lousy pickles that use to be in it, I Recommend your compost heap or the garbage. Wash the jar or sterilize it so it no longer stinks like the vinegar they used to make there inferior pickles.
• Now it gets real easy. Pack as many of your pickles into the jar as you can. Use the rest for a salad or something. stick in all the dill (you can chop it, but it does not matter), all the garlic cloves, all the seeds, then stop, and look at your beautiful jar. If you have the grape leaves, stick them in at this time. I don't ever use them, but my buddy does.
• Pour the salt water in the jar. All the way up to the top minus an inch, or a half inch or so. If you are short water, add some.
• Tightly cover the jar with the lid that came on the giant pickle jar. Cover it tightly, as hard as you can turn, stop, then tighten again just to make sure. Stand back, and look at the beauty of what you have made.
• Place jar UPSIDE down, with a towel over it (to keep it dark), in a cool (65-58°F) place in your home. Put a plate under the jar to see if it leaks.
• The next day (24 hours later) check to see if the jar leaked. If it did, it means you didn't follow my instructions. Tighten the lid (if needed) and TURN IT UPRIGHT, cover it with the towel, and ignore it. Walk away.
• Leave in cool dark place for five days. If you want to leave them for a full week, more power to you. Both time frames will result in a great authentic Kosher pickle.
• Enjoy, then leave feedback on this recipe.