8 lb Pickling cucumbers
-- (3- to 4-inch)
1/3 c  Canning or pickling salt
4 1/2 c  Sugar
3 1/2 c  Vinegar (5 percent)
2 ts Celery seed
1 tb Whole allspice
2 tb Mustard seed
1 c  Pickling lime (optional)*

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

May be canned as either strips or slices.

Yield: About 7 to 9 pints

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.

Variation: Add 2 slices of raw whole onion to each jar before filling with
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
Agriculture Information Bulletin No. 539 (rev. 1994) * format
courtesy of