Expert Pickles

 Family Vegan addedDecember 2019

• 100 pickling cucumbers
• 2 cups coarse salt
• water
• 10 cups sugar
• 5 cups vinegar
• alum
• 18 drops cinnamon oil
• 18 drops oil of cloves
• 2 tablespoons celery seed

1. Place pickles in a crock. Bring salt and 1 gallon of water to a boil and pour over pickles. The brine must cover the pickles. (You can place a plate on top with some weight to hold the floating pickles down in the brine.) Let stand for 8 days, stirring each day.
2. On the 8th day, empty the pickles into a large container and wash thoroughly with cold water. Cut pickles into spears and return to crock. Bring 1 gallon of fresh water with 1 tablespoon of powdered alum to a boil and pour over the pickles.
3. Repeat the previous step on the 9th and 10th days.
4. On the 11th day, drain thoroughly and put back into the crock. Combine sugar, vinegar, cinnamon oil, clove oil and celery seeds; bring to a boil and pour over pickles.
5. On the 12th and 13th days, drain the syrup off the pickles, bring to a boil and pour back.
6. On the 14th day, drain and heat solution to a boil. Pack the pickles in jars and then pour hot syrup on the pickles. Can the pickles for 5 minutes.