Amish Candied Sweet Pickle Recipes

BEST EVER SWEET PICKLES

Steps:

• In a large nonreactive bowl, combine cucumbers, onion and salt. Cover with crushed ice and mix well. Let stand 3 hours. Drain; rinse and drain thoroughly., In a Dutch oven, combine sugar, water, vinegars, mustard seed, celery seed and peppercorns. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Add cucumber mixture; return to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 4-5 minutes or until heated through., Carefully ladle hot mixture into 4 hot wide-mouth 1-pint jars, leaving 1/2-in. headspace. Add 3 garlic cloves and 1 bay leaf to each jar. Remove air bubbles and, if necessary, adjust headspace by adding hot pickling liquid. Wipe rims. Center lids on jars; screw on bands until fingertip tight. , Place jars into canner with simmering water, ensuring that they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil; process for 10 minutes. Remove jars and cool.

CHRISTMAS RED PICKLES

Steps:

• Peel cucumbers, halve lengthwise, and scrape out the seeds with a spoon. Cut the cucumber into 1/4 inch half circles, and place into a glass or ceramic crock. Dissolve the pickling lime in about 1 quart of room temperature water, pour over the cucumbers, then add additional water until the cucumbers are covered by 1/2 inch. Let stand at room temperature 24 hours.
• Drain the cucumbers and rinse well with cold water. Place into a large stockpot, and cover with cold water. Allow to stand for 3 hours, then drain and rinse again.
• Return the cucumbers to the pot, add the food coloring, alum, 1 cup vinegar, and enough water to cover by 1/2 inch. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to a simmer, and cook 2 hours. Once the cucumbers have cooked for 2 hours, drain and allow to cool a bit before placing into the glass or ceramic jar.
• Stir together sugar, 2 cups vinegar, 2 cups water, cinnamon red hot candies, and cinnamon sticks in a saucepan over medium heat until the sugar and candies dissolve. Pour this mixture over the warm cucumbers, cover, and let stand overnight.
• Pack pickles into pint jars, and process in a hot water bath for 15 to 20 minutes. Refrigerate any jars that do not seal.

CRAVEN COUNTY SWEET PICKLES RECIPE:

Steps:

• Soak the cucumbers in ice cold water for 30 minutes. Drain. Trim off the ends of the cucumbers, then slice (a mandoline is best) into 1/4-inch slices.
• Place sliced cucumbers in a large non-reactive container (stainless steel or porcelain) and cover with boiling water. There will be a foam on the cucumbers for this first application of boiling water, but you will not have any foam after that.
• Do not cover the container with a lid. This is because the water is so hot, and you do not want to cook the pickles - just "scald" them.
• Let sit until Day 2.
• The cucumbers do not have to be refrigerated during the five (5) day process. You want the ingredients to be at room temperature and the water you pour over them to be at the boiling point when you are processing.
• Drain off water (do not rinse the pickles) and cover with fresh boiling water and pickling salt mixture.
• Pickling salt mixture = 1 1/2 cups pickling salt to 1 gallon boiling water
• Drain off water/salt mixture.
• Do not rinse the pickles after the salt step. Just drain the water mixture off and proceed to the next step.
• Cover with fresh boiling water and alum mixture.
• Alum mixture = 2 1/2 tablespoons alum to 1 gallon boiling water
• Drain off alum water and discard.
• Do not rinse the pickles after the alum step. Just drain the water mixture off and proceed to the next step.
• Boil together enough cider vinegar and pickling spices to cover the cucumber slices. (1 gallon cider vinegar and 3 tablespoons pickling spices wrapped in cheese cloth).
• Pour prepared cider vinegar/pickling spices over the cucumber slices.
• I place a towel on top of the container, with a rubber band around the pot/towel to hold in place. I do this because the vinegar smell is so strong . I then put the container in the garage so they will not smell up the house.
• Let the cucumbers sit in the vinegar solution, covering the top with a towel to keep "whatever out." Do not cover the mixture with a lid.
• Take cucumbers out of cider vinegar; drain off cider vinegar and dispose (or throw away) the vinegar and spice sack. I do not put the spices back into my pickles. I am sure it would be okay if you did, but I do not like having the spices in my pickles.
• I put my jars, lids, and rings into the dishwasher and run on a regular cycle with dishwasher detergent. If you do not have a dishwasher, just wash as you would regular dishes and rinse with VERY hot water. This way you can be assured that your end product will be free of contaminants that may have been in the jar previously.
• General Rule: For every five (5) cups of sliced cucumbers, add two (2) cups of granulated sugar (you want to thoroughly cover the cucumbers as you would if you were flouring a piece of chicken to deep fry).
• When I pack the jars, I put approximately a dozen slices of pickles and then 1/4 cup of sugar sprinkled around on the slices - then another dozen or so pickles slices and another 1/4 cup of sugar until you have filled up the jar. You will end up with approximately one (1) cup of sugar per quart jar.
• As the sugar dissolves it "pulls out" the vinegar from the pickles and makes a sweet light syrup. When the sugar has dissolved, if you do not have syrup high enough in the jar to cover all of the pickles just add more sugar. I like to let my pickles age for a week and then refrigerate - they are fantastic cold.
• Make sure the pickles are covered with the vinegar/sugar liquid or your top cucumbers will turn darker.
• NOTE: The sugar sometimes does just sit on the bottom. I turn my jars upside down from time to time so the sugar will travel from the bottom to the top (which is now in the lower position). As you do this, the sugar will dissolve and draw the vinegar out of the pickles and make a syrup that will cover them. I turn the jars until the sugar has completely dissolved. It may take a few turns; however, you can also hold the jar in your hand and turn it back and forth to speed up the process.
• Your jars will not be sealed but your pickles will be preserved. You can eat these sweet pickles immediately, but are much better if they are allowed to sit in the syrup for a week or so.
• I prefer my pickles cold - straight from the refrigerator. They are a better taste and texture. You can store the pickles in a cool, dark place for many years.
• Yield: 35 pounds of cucumbers yielded approximately 18 quarts of sweet pickles.

EASY AMISH REFRIGERATOR PICKLES

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring vinegar, salt and sugar to a boil.
• Boil until the sugar has dissolved, about 10 minutes.
• Place the cucumbers, onions and green bell peppers in a large bowl.
• Pour the vinegar mixture over the vegetables.
• Transfer to sterile containers and store in the refrigerator.

BLUE RIBBON HORSERADISH PICKLES

Steps:

• Soak the cucumbers in ice cold water for 2 to 3 hours.
• Sterilize 5 (1 quart) jars with lids and rings and keep hot.
• In a large pot, combine the water, vinegar, sugar and pickling spices. Stir to dissolve sugar and bring to a boil.
• While the mixture is heating up, place the following things into each jar: 1 tablespoon of salt, 2 cloves of garlic, 2 strips of horseradish, and a few sprigs of dill. Trim the ends from the cucumbers and make a slit in the skin of each one so the brine can soak in and any air can get out. Pack the cucumbers into the jars. Pour the boiling brine into the jars to within 1/2 inch of the rims. Seal with lids and rings.
• Bring the water to a boil in the pot where you sterilized the jars. Place the jars into the water and turn off the heat. Let them sit in there until the water is cool. Test the jars for a good seal by pressing on the center of the lid. Refrigerate any unsealed jars.

CANDIED SWEET HEAT PICKLED JALAPENO RECIPE

Steps:

• In a large pot, bring cider vinegar, sugar, garlic powder, cayenne, and celery seed to a boil.
• Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
• Add the jalapeno pepper slices (and red bell pepper, if desired) and simmer for 4 minutes.
• Use a slotted spoon to transfer the peppers into clean, sterile canning jars, packing the jalapeños semi-firmly within ¼-inch of the rim of the jar.
• Turn heat up for the remaining syrup and bring to a full rolling boil.
• Boil for 5 minutes.
• Use a ladle to pour the boiling syrup into the jars over the jalapeño slices.
• Insert a knife into each of the jars two or three times to release any trapped pockets of air.
• Add more syrup if necessary. (*see notes for leftover syrup)
• Wipe the rims of the jars with a clean, damp paper towel then screw on two-part canning lids.
• If you do NOT want to properly can these, simply cool jars at room temperature for an hour and then store them in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 months.
• Use proper canning procedures to store at room temperature for longer periods of time.
• To can, place jars in a canner and cover with water by 2-inches. Bring the water to a full rolling boil. When it reaches a boil, set the timer for 10 minutes for half-pint jars or 15 minutes for pint jars. When the timer goes off, use canning tongs to transfer the jars to a cooling rack or kitchen towel. Leave them to cool, undisturbed, for 24 hours. When fully cooled, wipe them with a clean damp washcloth. Double check that they've sealed properly by pushing down on the center of the lid. It will not move if it is sealed.

SWEET PICKLED BEETS CANNING

Steps:

• Cut the leaves off the beet about 3" off the beet to prevent the beet from bleeding out. (Reserve them for cooked greens).
• Separate into sizes so little ones don't get over cooked and big ones are not under cooked.
• I like 3 kettles they boil faster that way.
• No salt in the water.
• Boil beets till tender, can be checked using a fork (like a potato).
• Drain and discard cooking liquid; let beets cool so they can be easily peeled.
• Cut beets into 1/2" pieces, leaving very small beets whole.
• Combine brine ingredients in a kettle.
• Bring brine to a boil.
• Simmer 10 minutes.
• You may need to make more brine for this amount of beets.
• Wash pint jars and covers.
• Fill jars within 1/2" from the top with beets.
• Fill jar with boiling brine to 1/2" from top.
• Place lids, adjust rings fingertip-tight and process in a boiling water bath for 30 minutes at up to 1000 feet in elevation.
• Cool processed jars undisturbed for 24 hours on a cloth-protected counter.
• Any leftover brine can be stored in the refrigerator till the next time you can.